Where Is The Hope?
by Jedi Jelsa777
Summary: As the galaxy seems to grow darker and darker each day, will the Jedi be able to turn it around? Or is all hope lost? Sequel to my story, Dueling With Danger.
1. Prologue

**7 years later**

Seven years... seven years since it all started going downhill. Seven years since he had felt her presence, let alone seen her face. Luke sighed as he looked out the window of yet another starship. It felt like he and his Master were always on the move these days. The twenty-two year old could hardly remember the happier days, back before this war with Maul had started. It was twelve years ago that it began after all and he had almost constantly been on the move since then. The only good that had come of Maul taking Leia is that neither of them had been seen on the battlefields, nor was their evidence of any dark Jedi being on the fields, for the numbers of the Jedi had stayed roughly the same since Leia was taken those seven years ago.

Luke looked down at his lightsaber, knowing he should at least feel happy or pleased, for he had just been informed by the Council that he was to be Knighted. But it just didn't feel the same without Leia there. All his life, at least up until she was taken, he had thought they would become Knights at the same time and sharing that with his twin is something he had looked forward to. Now it just felt like the rest of the galaxy, it felt dark. "Where is the hope?" thought Luke to himself, "Where is that feeling I had when I started this war that all would soon be right in the galaxy?" Another generation of Jedi would soon be joining the fight that Luke thought for sure would be just a page in the history data pads by now.

He looked out the front window, watching the lights streak by as they made their way through hyperspace. He mentally counted in his head and with shock realized it had been almost two years since either he or Obi-Wan had personally been back to Coruscant. It would be good to be able to relax for a day or two, not having to worry about being ambushed by Dark Force members or the population of a planet who feared being drawn into the war. Maybe if he could just unwind he wouldn't have such dark thoughts. But for now the question of where is the hope kept circulating in his brain.


	2. Chapter 1

Ten year old Rowan snuck out of the classroom he and his fellow younglings were being taught in. He had heard whispers that Luke Skywalker was going to be returning to the Temple, along with his Master Obi-Wan Kenobi. They, along with Knight Naare, were the ones he looked up to the most out of all the Jedi. It probably had something to do with them being the ones that came for him, but Rowan wasn't one to analyze these sorts of things. He peeked around the next corner cautiously, not wanting to have another scolding for skipping class and spotted them. So it was true! Luke was to be Knighted! Maybe he or Obi-Wan would choose him as their Padawan.

Not able to contain his excitement at seeing them, Rowan shot around the corner yelling, "Padawan Skywalker, Master Kenobi!" Both turned and smiled at him as Luke said "Hello Rowan, how are you?" while Obi-Wan asked "Shouldn't you be in class young one?" Rowan gave them a toothy grin and said "I'm doing great now that you're here" he looked down sheepishly at his feet before continuing "Yes Master, but I was so excited to see you, I didn't want to miss you if you were sent off again right away." Luke gave him a compassionate smile, before turning to his Master with an expression Rowan couldn't read.

After a moment Obi-Wan sighed and said "Alright, you can stick with us and I will have your teacher excuse you from this one class, but you must promise not to do so again in the future." "I promise I'll try not to do it again." Rowan said, not quite able to promise not skipping class if it meant seeing his friends again. Obi-Wan chuckled under his breath and responded, "Good enough." Rowan hung around the two older Jedi, asking them lots of questions about where they had been since he had last seen them and what they thought about the war.

Soon they reached the Jedi Council Chamber and since he couldn't go in with them, Rowan said his goodbyes and, after extracting promises to meet up with them later, began to aimlessly wander the halls. After all, now that he had been excused from class there wasn't much else to do with his day. He hadn't made it too far when he heard his name being called. Turning around, he saw Naare exiting the Jedi Council Chamber and heading towards him, a grin on her face. Once she reached him, she knelt down so she was practically at eye level with him and asked "How would you like to be my Padawan?"

Rowan's eyes widened before he shouted "Yes!" Naare laughed and said "That's good, because you really don't have a choice." She finished her statement by ruffling the boy's hair, causing him to laugh. "Now, come my Padawan, we have something to do here on Coruscant." Rowan fell in step with his new Master, happy that he wouldn't have to worry about regular classes again for a while. Rowan's lightsaber swung gracefully at his side and he wondered when he would start learning from Naare more about the different forms and such. As they walked down the hall, he saw the six Jedi who had taken him to get his crystal heading down the same hall in their direction.

Naare and he both swapped greetings with Katooni, Petro, Zatt, Ganodi, Gungi and Byph. Those six were hardly ever without the others, working best as a team, and because there were so many of them, they were often set to areas where there were many Dark Force soldiers. But they always had each other's back and hardly any of them had any serious scars to show for all of their battles.

Soon Naare and Rowan were outside of the Temple, something Rowan hadn't done very often, and he was too busy looking around to question where they were going themselves. Soon they came to halt in front of a door and his Master once again knelt in front of him. "Rowan, what we are about to do, could get us in very big trouble with the Jedi, me especially. But I made myself a promise years ago, and I am determined to keep it, so I need you to promise me that you won't speak a word about what happens next." Rowan could see how serious this was and said "I won't say a word Master." Naare smiled and stood once more as she said "Good." She then knocked on the door and slid open.

There stood two people with surprised expressions on their faces, faces that he barely recognized. "Rowan!" they shouted as he stuttered, "Kordi… Zander!" The three siblings rushed to embrace one another in a group hug, while Naare stood smiling off to the side, letting them have their moment. Once they broke the hug however, she said "We should move this inside." Once that was done, Naare let them know that she was breaking a rule and that she needed their promise, like Rowan, to be able to do this more often. "We will be sent out into the war soon, but I promise I will bring him by to see you at least once a trip, if at all possible." Naare finished with.

Kordi wiped a tear out of her eye and said "Of course we promise not to tell! Thank you so much for letting us see our baby brother again, we know that no one else would do this for us." "It is my pleasure." Naare said with a smile. As she watched the siblings get caught up on the last seven years of their lives, Naare couldn't help but think how disappointed her Master would have been in her for doing this. She inwardly sighed as she could practically hear Mace scolding her for allowing this to happen. But looking at Rowan light up and prattling on about his Jedi training made her feel like she had made the right choice, one that she would gladly do over and over again.

XXX

Later, as Naare and Rowan were walking towards the Temple, Rowan looked up at his Master and said "Thank you Naare." "You're welcome Rowan. Now how would you like to take a peek at Luke's Knighting ceremony?" "Would I!" Rowan exclaimed, to which Naare chuckled and said "Remember, you'll have to stay quiet while this is going on Rowan. This is Luke's moment." "I'll be as quiet as I can be Master." Rowan said with a nod, earning another chuckle from his Master, along with a sarcastic reply of "That's what I'm afraid of." "Hey!" Rowan objected before both fell to laughing, only stopping as they reached the Temple.


	3. Chapter 2

"We're not going to make it Master." Ezra said to his Master, to which he earned the reply of "Hera said we will." Ezra held off a laugh as he thought to himself how if Caleb wasn't a Jedi, he could see him and Hera being an item. They worked well off of each other and these days they often argued like an old married couple. Not that he had seen many of those, but every now and then, when he did see them, he would study them. They would argue, but often times their eyes were lit with merriment, much like Caleb and Hera's when they did. Looking out the viewport he watched the planet become bigger and bigger, hoping that Hera was right.

At the spaceport, they hopped off without any of their normal goodbye rounds. He and Caleb raced through the connecting pathways, intent on reaching their destination in time. Up ahead Ezra saw a familiar figure about to enter the building they were intent on reaching and he put on a fresh burst of speed. Just shy of running into the figure, Ezra and Caleb stopped, causing Ezra to once again marveling at how his Master's depth perception had improved since losing sight in his right eye. "Good to see you Naare." Ezra said, before spotting the boy at her side and adding "and Rowan." "New Padawan Naare?" asked Caleb as the four entered the building.

"Yes, Rowan is my new Padawan." She said, putting hand on Rowan's shoulder, before continuing, "We are on our way to see Luke's Knighting ceremony, care to join us?" The two nodded and fell into step with them, conversing along the way. Little did Ezra know that his Master had a surprise for him. They found the Masters waiting for them and Yoda said "Ah Caleb and young Ezra, begin we now can." "Wait what does he mean?" Ezra asked Caleb, "They could start Luke's ceremony without us." "Yes, but they couldn't start yours without you."

Ezra's eyes widened and his mouth hung open causing his Master to laugh and say, "You are ready Ezra and we figured Luke could use a little moral support during this big step." Ezra nodded, understanding that if Leia were still here she would have been Knighted beside Luke. Luke smiled at him, happy to not have to do this alone and both of them turned at feeling a familiar presence. Looking into a darkened corner, they saw Anakin watching. How he managed to get back and either convince or evaded the Council to be able to view this moment, they didn't know, but Ezra could feel the relief flowing off of Luke at having so many of his friends and family there for him. "Let's begin." Said Obi-Wan Kenobi.

XXX

Later, Ezra, Caleb, Luke, Obi-Wan, Naare, Rowan, Ahsoka, Anakin and Padmé all met up to celebrate. Everyone knew that technically both Anakin and Padmé shouldn't be there, but since it was a special occasion and they weren't likely to run into anyone from the Temple, nobody said anything, though Ezra could see Rowan was burning with an unspoken question. While there was an air of festivities, there was also a cloud of sadness over the gathering, a sadness that came from knowing that there should have been another also with them, celebrating her own Knighting. Ezra decided that they needed to shake it off and asked "So what will our first missions be like?"

"Well, now that you are Knights, you will probably travel alone or with other Knights. Sometimes we might be teamed up again, but now its time for us to move onto the next Padawan that needs us or maybe we'll take a break since you two were almost impossible to teach." Caleb finished off his informative talk with a little humor, nudging Ezra in the shoulder to show he didn't really mean it. Luke looked distressed as he said "I'm not sure if I am quite ready to go alone." To which Obi-Wan replied, "Don't worry Luke, I think we have someone we can pair you up with." Luke looked relieved as Ezra asked, "Do we need to take on Padawans?"

"Not right away, get used to being alone first." Obi-Wan replied. "You didn't." Anakin pointed out, to which Obi-Wan replied dramatically, "Something which I have regretted to this day… Ouch." He finished with a chuckled after Anakin punched him semi-gently in the arm. "You two will do fine." Ahsoka reassured them while Padmé said "Hopefully this war will be over soon and you can have a breather." At this point, Dex brought them all their food and for a while, the sounds of munching were all that was heard. After they had finished dessert, Rowan started yawning and Naare said "Looks like we should be heading back, thanks for inviting us to celebrate with you."

When Rowan and Naare had left, Caleb stood and said "I've already got a mission I have been assigned. I need someone to go with me, want to partner up one more time Ezra?" "You know it Master." "You can just call me Caleb now if you wish. Anyways, then we better hit the sack too." "I think I am ready for some shut eye myself." Obi-Wan said, standing to go with Ezra and Caleb, while Ahsoka said "Wait for me!" Once they were outside the diner, Caleb asked "Do you think that is wise Obi-Wan?" which earned him the reply "Let them have a moment, they are all feeling Leia's loss the most right now." Shortly, Luke caught up with them, informing them that Anakin was seeing Padmé safely home.

XXX

The next morning, as they walked to the spaceport, Ezra asked his Master jokingly "Who gets to keep the Ghost?" Caleb chuckled before saying "We can share." Ezra smiled before they entered the bay that the Ghost was resting in. Hera, who had been working on something on the ramp, saw them come in and asked "So, did you get there in time?" "Yes, thanks to you Hera." Caleb responded and once again Ezra could sense the affection coming off of them. If Caleb wasn't careful he could let his emotions get in the way, but he figured that his former Master deserved a little bit of happiness in his life. And Hera definitely made him happy.

"So how did whatever you were rushing off to go?" asked Sabine, who had practically materialized beside him without Ezra's noticing. He jumped a little and said "Gosh Sabine, can't you make a little noise?" Sabine laughed and replied "And make it so you don't get enough exercise? Not a chance." Ezra grinned and then said "To answer your real question, it went great! Luke and I were Knighted last night!" "Congratulations Ezra!" Sabine said, "I'm really happy for you." As Ezra was about to say something, Hera called them over and said "Sabine, Kanan has a request for you." Ezra smiled on the inside at how Hera had never really called Caleb his real name, but more often than not, went with the name he had introduced himself as, though oddly enough she never called Ezra Dev. When Zeb had asked about it once she had simply replied "He looks more like a Kanan then a Caleb to me."

"Sabine, Ezra and I have been asked to go to Mandalore. Are you okay with going there?" Sabine shrugged and said "I guess." Though Ezra could tell she wasn't too thrilled about the idea. As Hera and Caleb once again started talking about what the plan was, Ezra followed Sabine into the Ghost. When she entered her room, he hesitated for a second before following her in. When Sabine noticed him, she asked "Is there something I can do for you Ezra?" "Why don't you want to go back to your home planet?" Sabine sighed and said "I was only supposed to stay with Hera for a few weeks, but its been years. I don't think my aunt really wants me around and my mother is so busy trying to rebuild their bond and trust etc that I feel like they forgot about me. Either that or I am just a reminder of the trouble my mother helped cause."

"What trouble was that?" Ezra asked. So Sabine told him all about the Madolorians that had sided with Maul, her mother being one of them, against her aunt. When she was done Ezra didn't know what to say, so he pulled her into a hug and said "It will be alright Sabine." He felt her shuddered as she tried to hold in first the tears and then the sobs, the pain of feeling abandoned finally being set free. When she finally dried her eyes, Ezra said "I kind of know how you feel. I was dropped off at the Temple as a baby and whoever my parents were never said what my last name was or anything, the Jedi didn't even see them leave me." Sabine stared at him and said "That's why you never said your last name, you don't have one." Ezra shook his head and said "Yeah." as he rubbed his neck.

It was Sabine's turn to pull him into a hug which he returned, each taking solace in the fact that there was someone who understood, where words weren't needed anymore to describe the depths of their emotions. As they parted, Ezra couldn't help but notice how pretty Sabine looked, which startled him. To cover his feelings, Ezra said "We should probably go find out more about our mission." Sabine didn't say anything, just nodded and led the way to where Caleb and Hera were holding their own conference. Ezra knew he had to get these feelings that were starting to grow towards Sabine under control, but a part of him wished that he was at liberty to see where they would take them.


	4. Chapter 3

Luke had been thrilled to see many of his old friends and his parents, both during and after his Knighting ceremony, but his heart wasn't really in the moment. If he were to admit it out loud, he probably would go far to say his heart hadn't been in it since Leia had severed their bond. He sat in the gardens meditating when he heard his Master say his name. Opening his eyes he saw Obi-Wan standing there with Master Luminara's old Padawan, Mara. "The Council has need of you to safe guard the Bridgers to their new safe house, the one here has been compromised." Obi-Wan said as Luke stood up, "Mara has agreed to join you as I am unable to do so." "Alright Obi-Wan." Luke said, smiling at his friend Mara. It had been years since he had seen her, but aside from a few new scars, she hadn't changed much.

After a few more details about the mission, Obi-Wan headed back towards the Temple, while Mara and Luke went to pick up the Bridgers. The Bridgers had been living a suite near Padmé and were unsure how the enemies discovered their location, so far from Lothal had they come. They were to transport them to Naboo, where his mother was allowing the Jedi to put them up in her own quarters in the city for the time being. Luke and Mara caught up, telling outlandish stories about their battle scars, etc as they headed at a leisurely pace to the pick-up spot.

But they weren't just going slowly as to catch up, but rather to make sure that they weren't being followed by anyone. Neither of them spotted anyone, but both couldn't shake the feeling that they were being watched. When they finally arrived at the building, they first checked the craft they would be using, loaned to them by Luke's mother, to be sure that it was secure. Once they were satisfied with that, they headed inside, where they were greeted by Padmé. "The Bridgers are ready to leave when you two are." She said, smiling at both Jedi.

"The Council said to be sure to thank you for the use of your craft and home, Senator." Mara said, returning her smile. "Can you tell us what kinds of threats they have received?" asked Luke. Padmé frowned and said "As you may know, Lothal has been under the control of the Dark Forces for the past two years, which has increased their anger towards the Bridgers for, in their opinion, starting this war. We believe they have hired another Bounty Hunter to come after them and I bet I know who they will send." "Who, Boba Fett?" asked Mara. Padmé shook her head and replied "No, Cad Bane. He has successfully gotten into the Senate building before, he would have no problem getting into these buildings that hold our private quarters."

Luke couldn't argue with his mother's logic. He had never dealt with Bane personally, but from what he could tell, that was a good thing and something he hoped to keep from having to do. They entered the quarters which the Bridgers had been given, Padmé's own guards standing watch at the entrance, and found the Bridgers ready to go. Introductions were made before Mara said "Not to be rude, but we should get moving before trouble starts happening." As if her words made it appear, a grenade landed at their feet. Acting on instinct born of years in battle, both Luke and Mara force pushed it out the window, where it exploded midair.

Igniting their blades, they formed a protective barrier between the Bridgers and Padmé from the direction that the grenade had come. Neither Jedi saw anything and started looking in different directions while reaching out with the Force, but it was Padmé who first saw the bounty hunter. "There!" she shouted as she pointed. Luke internally groaned as he saw his mother was correct. Cad Bane hadn't changed a bit in the years since he had last been a problem to the Republic. The blue skinned alien smirked and said "Ah Jedi, this will make this job more interesting." "Back off Bane." Padmé shouted, scowling as Bane proceeded to tip his hat and say "A pleasure to see you again Senator. Now if these two Jedi will just let me do my job, I'll be on my way."

"Never." Luke replied, lifting his lightsaber a bit more. Bane sighed and said "I thought not, but I thought I should give you a sporting chance." With that he started firing one of his guns as he used his free hand to reach for and throw grenades. Mara leaped out in front of everyone, blocking the shots as Luke did his best to keep the grenades from going off anywhere where they could hurt someone. As soon as Bane saw that this was getting him nowhere, he stopped firing and used both hands to throw his seemingly endless supply of grenades, the last one going off on impact and setting up a smokescreen.

When it cleared enough for the Jedi and their companions to see, Bane was no longer there. "Is he gone?" Mara asked as she shut off her lightsaber. "Not a chance, he may try a different approach, but Bane doesn't give up that easily." Padmé answered. Padmé's guards broke down the door just then, saying that they had tried to enter the room, but the door wouldn't open. "Mother, I think it's time you went back to your room with your guards, the less people to protect the easier our job will be." Luke said, which Padmé nodded, hesitated for a moment as if she wanted to hug him and thought the better of it, and exited the room with a wave.

After giving them plenty of times to clear the hallway between the rooms, they too exited the room. Luke was in front of the Bridgers, while Mara guarded their back. Artoo had accompanied them to the ship and had remained there while they went to get the Bridgers. "Any trouble R2?" asked Luke as the approached, the droids whistles and beeps informing him that all had been quiet. "That's good, but just in case, search the ship for any tracking devices or explosives before we take off." Luke responded. Artoo rolled off to inspect the craft while the Jedi entered it with the Bridgers. Once they were safely in, Luke joined his droid in the inspection, one which revealed nothing.

Luke didn't like how easily this was going since the second attack, but aside from his gut screaming that there was danger, there was no proof so he knew he had to take off. Barely were they in the air, when a ship came out of nowhere and started firing on them. Using the flying talents he had inherited from his father, Luke dodged and weaved as he radioed for back up. Cad Bane wasn't backing off and was landing some strikes, though none that could disable or cripple the ship thankfully. Just as suddenly as he had appeared, Cad Bane veered off and it was soon evident why as a few Clone air ships chased after him.

Now that they had a moment to breath, Luke headed for space, where he had Artoo set the first coordinates they would take in order to confuse their trail, at least that was the plan. Something still felt off in the force as they made the first hyperspace jump, but what it was Luke couldn't quite put his finger on.

XXX

It was after their third jump over Kashyyyk that Luke spotted Cad Bane's ship. How he had followed them he didn't know, as he shouted over his shoulder "We've got company." He heard Mara curse the lack of weapons on the Nabooian craft before she shouted, "How did he find us?" "He either hid the tracker real well or he got one on us back when he was chasing us over Coruscant." Luke replied, before asking "R2, can you see if you can locate it?" R2 whistled an affirmative before patching into the ship. After a few moments, he whistled and Luke replied "Can you shut it down from here?" After an affirmative beep from R2 he replied "Then do it." R2 did so, but just then Bane landed a lucky shot and took out their hyperdrive.

Just when Luke thought it couldn't get any worse, a ship materialized out of nowhere. It was an old Clone Wars era ship, but you could tell it had been modified a lot since it was built. As Luke was trying to figure out if they were friend or foe, the other ship began firing… On Bane! It soon had the bounty hunter on the run and making the jump to hyperspace. Suddenly a voice crackled over the radio, "Everyone okay over there?" "Yes, thanks to you, though our hyperdrive unit is done." "Follow me, and we'll help you fix it up." The voice replied, before the radio went silent.

Luke followed them down to the surface of Kashyyyk where, upon landing, he and Mara exited the Naboo ship. From the other ship exited a man and a woman, about Luke's age if he had to guess. "Thanks again. I'm Luke Skywalker and this Mara Jade." "You're welcome, this is Juno Eclipse, the one whose flying saved your butts, and I am Galen Marek." The young man replied. Mara tapped her chin as she asked "Marek? As in Kento Marek?" Galen nodded and said "He is my father, why?" Luke and Mara shared a look of surprise, Kento and another Jedi, Mallie, had gone missing at the same time in the Clone Wars, looks like they now knew why.

Mara was the first to respond, "We knew of a Jedi who went missing with that name, though neither of us ever personally met him." Marek frowned, and said "My father did nothing wrong." "We know that, in fact I understand just where you are coming from. My father is Anakin Skywalker, and he too broke the rules, though he did tell the Council and they had him leave the Order, they let him join back up about seven years ago after… after my sister was taken and turned by Maul." Marek scowled and said "We've had all we could do to keep Maul and his forces off of Kashyyyk, why haven't you sent help?"

"Believe me we have tried, actually I am kind of surprised that neither my sister nor her Master found you here when the Wookiees were being taken. That was before she turned of course, but why weren't you doing anything about that?" Luke asked. "We were, we went after the first bunch that was taken and it just took us a little longer to get back then expected, that still doesn't answer why you aren't sending more help now." "We would if we could, we have lost many Jedi over the years and those that are left are being pushed to their limit. Luke here just got back to Coruscant after two years away and was immediately sent on our current mission." Mara replied hotly.

Luke put a hand on her shoulder to calm her down, before replying "We can ask for troops or whatever else you need to be sent here once the mission is complete, but that does mean your parents will be discovered. Do you really want that?" Marek sighed and said "No, that's alright. Really with the Wookiees helping it's not so bad, I just don't like how the Republic is ignoring them. "If you ever need help, just send for us, and we'll come." Luke replied, holding out his hand which Galen grasped in a firm handshake.

"Would the Council let my parents return if they wanted to? After all they let your father." Marek asked a while later as he and Luke worked on the hyperdrive. Luke chuckled and said "Honestly I think it's more so they can keep him on track more than anything as this was right after my sister was taken that he was allowed back in. I think they were worried about what he would do, or at least try to do, on his own." He grew serious as he continued "But I wouldn't let them know about your parents. Even if they did let them back in, they would keep them separated for the rest of their lives as much as possible." Marek frowned as he said "I don't think I like how that works."

Luke sighed and said "I don't either, but for now I will live with it in hopes of it changing." "If it does, let me know and I will tell my parents." "I will." Marek was quiet for a bit before saying "They have trained me." Luke didn't look over as he replied "I know, which is another reason for you to keep as little contact with the Jedi Order as possible." Marek looked over at his new friend in surprise and asked "How did you know they had trained me?" Luke smirked and said "I'm a Jedi remember? I could tell you were force sensitive and had training. Since your parents are the only Jedi you have probably seen it was only logical that they trained you." Marek laughed and the two chatted for a bit more as they finished fixing the hyperdrive. Soon Luke and Mara found themselves saying goodbye to their new friends, promising to keep them a secret before they headed off on their next hyperspace leap.

 **Once again a reminder that I have no idea on the placement of the planets relative to each other, how the hyperspace lanes work, etc. This actually wasn't part of my original plan, but I wanted to bring the Bridgers back in so they weren't forgotten/thought to be forgotten and then I had to add one of my brothers favorite bounty hunters Cad Bane into this which also wasn't planned XD Then I was like crap, how do I get rid of him before I get where I am going with the Bridgers and all of a sudden I was like oh I know how to bring Galen Marek into this! I did change what type of ship the Rogue Shadow was for this to make it fit a bit better and I called him by his last name since we also have Galen Erso in this story and I didn't want for it to get confusing. So any time you see Galen I am talking about Jyn's father and anytime you see Marek I am talking about Starkiller. For those of you not familiar with Marek, his parents, Juno, etc they are from the Force Unleashed games. For those of you who do know them, know that I do plan on making mention of Rahm Kota in this story, so keep your eyes peeled ;) All in all, not a bad chapter for not being in the plan whatsoever, in my opinion anyways XD**

XXX

After a few more hyperspace jumps, Luke finally brought them to Naboo. He brought the ship down as close as possible to the home Padmé was letting the Bridgers use until either the danger had passed or they were forced to move again. As Luke and Mara were getting ready to leave, Mira put a hand on his arm. When he turned to face her once more, Mira said "Do you know Ezra?" Luke nodded as she continued "He was so kind and entertained us on our last trip. Would you mind giving him this from us when you next see him?" Luke smiled as he took it and said "I will be happy to." After a few more thanks and a hug each from Mira, the two Jedi took off, heading back to Coruscant to see what awaited them next.


	5. Chapter 4

**We'll be skipping Leia this round as I don't want you to see what is going on with her at this moment. I can't wait for you guys to see that, but we have a few more chapters to get through first!**

Rowan was so excited about having witnessed Luke and Ezra's Knighting ceremony that he had trouble sleeping that night. Well that and the fact that both of Luke's parents had joined them for supper, and while granted Anakin Skywalker had been allowed back in under special circumstances, something told Rowan that he should have been at that meal and Padmé for sure shouldn't have. But he knew that he couldn't question it from the looks his Master gave him. After all, they could have just invited themselves along and all, which Rowan didn't really buy beca…

"Rowan, have you heard a word I've said?" Naare asked with tone that was both exasperated and teasing. "Sorry Master, my mind was wandering." Naare chuckled and said "We have been sent on a mission by the Council to Jedha." "Yippee!" shouted Rowan, earning him a look from his Master before she continued "We won't be fighting the Dark Forces, we are just ensuring that all is well there, after all, it is a good place to get our crystals." "Will I be able to get a new crystal?" Rowan asked. "Only if one calls for you, though I doubt it since you already have the one." Naare said, as they headed out to find a ship.

The second hanger they checked, they found his siblings working on a ship. "Kordi, Zander!" Rowan exclaimed, rushing to them, joining them in a family hug. Suddenly he noticed a B1 battle droid exiting the ship and he shouted "A battle droid! Don't worry, I'll protect you!" The battle droid screeched "What?!" as Rowan started rushing at him, igniting his lightsaber as Kordi yelled "Rowan no!" Naare stopped him suddenly with the Force and he said "Naare, I can do this, let me stop him!" "Rowan, I think you should listen to your sister before you attack this droid." "Yes listen to her, listen to her!" The droid begged.

"Rowan, this is Roger, we repurposed him to help us out with our new business." Kordi said. "Oh, well in that case, nice to meet you!" Rowan said, holding out his hand for Roger to shake. As Rowan and Roger got acquainted, Naare turned to the older siblings and asked "Are you getting ready to head out somewhere?" "Nowhere in particular, but we decided we are going to get into the refurbishing business, so we are going to go look for parts, etc left behind from space battles." Zander replied. "If you don't have a particular destination in mind, maybe you could give Rowan and I a lift to Jedha? There have been a few battles just a few jumps away from there where you could gather what you wished to while we do our task."

"Sounds like a good plan to me, how about you Zander?" Kordi asked. "Get to get some junk and hang with our brother? What could be better?" he asked, "Allow me to introduce you to my pride and joy, The Star Scavenger!" Rowan, overhearing this, rushed up and said "We get to travel with Kordi and Zander!?" "Yes, but you must all keep this a secret, we can't let anyone know that you are related while on Jedha and we can't talk about this when we get back to the Temple, remember this Rowan." Naare instructed, earning her a nod and a "Yes Master" from Rowan. "Then all aboard!" Kordi said, motioning for the others to board before her, "We are off to Jedha!"

XXX

As they landed on Jedha, two people waited for them, Naare having alerted them that they were on their way shortly before entering the area. Exiting, Naare said "Chirrut, Baze it's good to see you again." "It's good to see you too." Chirrut said with a chuckle. Rowan could see that the one called Chirrut was blind. "I'd like you to meet my new Padawan, this is Rowan Freemaker, Rowan this is Chirrut Îmwe and Baze Malbus." Just then Kordi came out of the ship and said "We're heading off now, we'll be back in a bit to pick you up." "Okay thanks Kordi." Naare said. Rowan started chattering to Baze who was leading the way towards the place where they oversaw the crystals, while Naare and Chirrut fell into step.

"It's a dangerous path you are walking on Naare, one you Master wouldn't have been pleased in." Chirrut said for her ears alone. Naare glanced over him in shock, though her words try to cover it as she started to ask "What are you tal…" "I may be blind girl, but I'm not stupid. Don't worry, I won't tell, for that is up to you, but remember this, secrets always seem to pick the worse time to come out." With that, he left Naare to her thoughts, catching up with Baze and Rowan to see what they were talking about. Naare was left to wonder just how much the older man knew or what he thought he knew.

XXX

Soon the Freemakers were back to pick them up, Chirrut and Baze giving a comforting report that they had seen no signs of the Dark Forces moving in. The Freemakers also reported that all the systems they had checked out, the fights had ended long ago, for all the good stuff was gone. None of the places were under Dark Force control, that they could tell, and so that too was a comfort. As Rowan chatted with his siblings and Roger about things on the way back to Coruscant, he couldn't help but notice how quiet his Master was.

Once they had landed safely and had bid his family goodbye, he asked "What is it Master?" "I wish I knew Rowan. The way things were going on Jedha felt too easy, I mean why would the Dark Forces back off from it? It would be a major blow to the Republic, or more specifically the Order, if Jedha fell to them." Rowan had no answer for his Master and, young though he was, he had had the same sort of thoughts himself. For now, it looked like they would have to wait for the Dark Forces to make their move, something that didn't sound all too appealing.

 **I've been keeping Rowan's chapters short for two reasons. One, I don't know how many of you actually watched the Freemakers and therefore I don't want to lose/bore you to much with him and Naare and two, he has sadly fallen into the setup categories for the next chapters each time. On a plus, Chirrut and Baze made an appearance so woot, woot! Don't worry, you'll see more of those two in this story :D At least if I keep following my plan you will, lol.**


	6. Chapter 5

**One important thing to remember with this story is Sabine's family tree is different from what the show has now said it to be (I was halfway through writing this chapter when the episode aired) Sabine's mother will be Satine's sister (I mean for crying out loud she is practically named after Satine!) and in my mind I can picture an episode happening where her "mother" is like oh by the way, surprise! You're adopted! You're mother feared for you because of who your father was (which for those of you who don't know, in my mind he is Pre Vizsla) so she asked me to take you in as my own, her only request being I continue to call you Sabine. Probably won't happen, but I can dream right? Anyways, to make the family tree straight (as it appears in this story anyways) Sabine is Satine's niece, Bo-Katan's daughter and Korkie's cousin (since from what I can find on him, he is listed as Satine and Bo-Katan's nephew).**

As they landed on Mandalore, Ezra could feel Sabine's emotions bouncing all over the place. He discreetly slipped his hand into hers and gave it a gentle, reassuring squeeze, earning a shaky smile from her for his efforts. The Duchess's guards met them shortly after they had exited the Ghost, asking them to hand over their weapons. All of them did so, except for Zeb who said he would remain on the Ghost with Chopper. So Hera and Caleb, followed by Ezra and Sabine followed one of the guards to where the Duchess was waiting.

As they entered, Ezra was struck by the friendly smile on the Duchess's face, as she greeted them "Master Jedi, thank you for coming. Who do we have here?" "Duchess Satine, I am Caleb Dume and this is Hera Syndulla, Knight Ezra and I believe you know Sabine." Caleb said, motioning to each person as he named them. Ezra saw Satine's eyes soften as they landed on Sabine, before she turned her gaze back to Caleb and said "My guards have reported unusual activity on the moon Concordia. We haven't heard back from any who have gone to check." She sighed, seeming to compose herself before she said "Including my sister."

Sabine's eyes widened and she gasped, causing Ezra to look at her, but before he could ask her if she was okay, Caleb asked the Duchess "Do you think it's the Dark Forces?" "Honestly, I am not sure. My nephew Korkie thinks it's a high possibility." She motioned to a soldier to her right, before adding "But if it is, we haven't seen any real signs of them, which seems unusual for a group such as theirs, to say nothing of the fact that the surrounding star systems are free of them." Caleb held his chin as he said "That would be odd for them to be here, though not impossible." He hesitated before he asked "Is it possible that it's someone starting up Death Watch again? Or a group like it?"

Satine shrugged and said "Once again, I don't think it is but it's always possible that another group is unhappy with how I lead." "Other than people not returning or being heard from, has there been any other clues as to what is happening over there?" asked Ezra. The one called Korkie stepped forward and said "We did have one small transmission make it through, but we couldn't make much of it as it was cut off. All that was left was simply the word help and an image of a hooded figure." Ezra and Caleb shared a glance, before Caleb asked "Could it be Maul?" Satine's eyes narrowed at the name and she said "If it is, he better remember what happened the last time he tried to take over Mandalore."

"We'll do our best to solve this problem." Ezra said as Caleb turned to Hera and said to her, "We'll need to borrow the Phantom." "Of course." Hera said, willing to do whatever she could to help. "What can we do?" Sabine asked him, also wanting to join the fight. "You can stay here." Caleb replied "But…" "No buts." The one eyed Jedi replied and she was about to argue further when Korkie said "How about we get you fitted with a jetpack?" Sabine's eyes lit up as she asked "Really?" She didn't care that it was being used as a distraction for not getting to go with the Jedi, she had always wanted one.

So while Sabine headed off with her cousin, the Jedi started back to the Ghost while Hera stayed to talk with Satine. When they were alone, Satine asked "How is my niece doing?" "She is fine, but I know it hurts her to remain so far from Mandalore. I overheard her talking to Ezra and she thinks that you blame her for who her father is. Satine's eyes widened, before she said "That couldn't be further from the truth! We wanted to keep her safe from all of the backlash after what happened with Death Watch and Maul and even the Clone Wars! The riots here were getting worse and just when things were finally calming down a bit, this whole thing with the moon had to happen." "You need to tell her this, because though she hides it well, she is really hurting, really longing for her family." Hera admonished. With that, the Twi'lek left the room, leaving the Mandalorian leader deep in thought.

XXX

Ezra and Caleb reached the Ghost and, after filling Zeb and Chopper in, took off in the Phantom. "What do you think we're up against Master?" Ezra asked. "Well, I don't feel the dark side, so I don't think it's a Sith, but honestly, I'm not sure." Caleb replied. Ezra could honestly say he didn't find that reassuring, especially since whatever it was seemed to have no trouble taking out Mandalorians, which meant more than likely it was some branch of the Dark Forces they were up against. They would soon find out, as they were fast reaching their destination. Flying low over the moon, they saw nothing that stood out to them, which raised even more alarms in their minds.

They eventually landed and they debated having one of them stay with the ship since the other ships looked as though they had been tampered with. In the end, they decided it was safer they stick together, though they contacted Hera, who had arrived back at the Ghost and told her she should have Chopper come pick it up and just be ready to come and grab them if they needed help. It was quiet, too quiet to be honest. "Keep your eyes peeled." Caleb whispered, his hand hovering close to his lightsaber. Ezra nodded, his eyes already darting from here to there.

Both Jedi felt as though the Force was clouded, like someone was blocking them, though neither of them had been on the moon before so it could just be the atmosphere. The further they went, the more pieces of Mandalorian armor they found, though thankfully they found no bodies amongst the litter, it did leave the question of who was behind this. They soon came to one of the buildings Death Watch had built in their time there and cautiously they entered. Just as Ezra crossed the threshold, the door slid shut with a clank, letting them know the locking mechanism had slid home. The door across the space did so too, as a mist began to fill the room. Both of them tried to hold their breaths, but it was no use and, after inhaling just a few times, they slipped into unconsciousness.

XXX

"Wakey, wakey Jedi." Came a female voice through the fog in Ezra's head. As his vision cleared, Ezra stared into a pair of blue eyes, which upon seeing his open, pulled back. The next thing he noticed was the female's olive green skin and tattoos on her face, suggesting to him that she was a Mirialan, like Master Luminara. She moved onto Caleb, who upon waking stared at her in disbelief. "Barriss?" he questioned in a dry, scratchy voice. "Ah Caleb, I see you remember me." The one called Barriss replied, "I wasn't sure you would after all these years."

"What are you doing here?" questioned Caleb. Barriss frowned as she said "As you may remember I was tossed out of the Order for trying to point out that the Jedi have lost their way…" "It was for a little more than that, you killed those people and tried to frame Ahsoka!" Caleb exclaimed. Barriss waved him off as she continued "I see the Jedi have lost their way even more since I left, otherwise what happened with Leia Skywalker wouldn't have happened and Maul would either be dead or captured. I decided that the galaxy needed my help." "If you're trying to help, why are you capturing, or whatever you're doing, Mandalorians? Why not the Dark Forces?" Ezra questioned.

Barriss frowned in his direction and replied "There are others who would start a war besides the Dark Forces, the Mandalorians have a violent history, I'm just assuring that they don't start another war of their own. Once I have them under control, I'll move onto the next violent race. Perhaps the Wookiees?" "You're insane Barriss! The Mandalorians have been peaceful since before The Clone Wars, only fighting when they were drawn in, minus Death Watch who was attacking their own! How can you possibly reconcile your actions!?" Caleb demanded. Barriss practically growled as she said "One day, you will thank me. All the Jedi will."

With that, seeming to have had enough fun toying with the Jedi, Barriss turned and left through a door they hadn't noticed until that moment. Once they were alone, Ezra said "Great, not only do we have to deal with Leia and Maul, but a deranged former Jedi. I thought she was locked up somewhere?" Caleb sighed and said "She was, maybe they thought they had rehabilitated her enough to throw her out into this war when we started running low on Jedi or maybe she escaped, given how distracted we all have been. But we can ask these questions later, right now we need to figure a way out of this mess."

Before either of them could say another word, a different female entered the room, looking fervently in all directions before sliding in. As she walked up to them, she softly said "I thought my sister would have requested her old friend, Obi-Wan Kenobi." As she undid the force cuffs holding them to the wall. "Bo-Katan I presume?" Caleb said as he rubbed his wrist gratefully. "That's me, and you are?" "Master Caleb Dume and this is Jedi Knight Ezra." He responded. "Are there others being held prisoner? And how did you get loose?" Ezra questioned.

"Yes, as far as I can tell she never killed anyone, though I haven't really had a chance to talk with the others. As for how I got out, I was a member of Death Watch so I knew of a few secrets this building holds." Bo-Katan responded. "Do you know a few more that would help us get out of here and capture Barriss?" Caleb asked. "Yes, but we'll have to act quickly before she knows you are gone. I have a few ideas of where she may have put our weapons, but I'm not sure if she would put your lightsabers in with them as she seems a bit… eccentric." "That's putting it mildly." Ezra muttered, earning a grin from her, causing him to notice just how much she looked like Sabine.

"Come, follow me." Bo-Katan said, before cautiously opening the door and looking around. Once she was satisfied that the coast was clear, she motioned for them to exit with her. She pressed on a section of the wall a few feet down the hallway, causing a secret passageway to be revealed. She led them down first this one and then another, followed by one more.

"There's one thing I want to know. How did you know we were Jedi that were in that cell, and for that matter which cell we were in?" Caleb questioned. "I saw her put you in there, as my cell was across from yours, and when she left she had your lightsabers. I had almost worked myself free, but decided to wait until you had revived before doing so." By now they had reached the room where Bo-Katan had thought that Barriss would leave the weapons, and they were in luck for the lightsabers were there along with many Mandalorian type weapons and jetpacks. As Bo-Katan reached for a weapon and a jetpack, she said "Alright here is my plan, unless you have something better. You go in search of this lunatic and beat her while I free the other Mandalorians. If when I am done, you still haven't defeated her, we will join you."

"Sounds like a good idea to me." Caleb said, though in his mind he was hesitant to have the Mandalorians help. Barriss had at one point been his friend, and while she had lost her way, he still felt she deserved another chance. As soon as Bo-Katan had left the room, Caleb turned to Ezra and said "We have to find Barriss quickly." "Right, got any ideas on how to do that?" Ezra asked. Caleb replied "We need to get her attention somehow and then sneak attack her." "I've got an idea." Ezra replied after a brief moment, before whispering his suggestion in Caleb's ear. Caleb smiled and nodded "Let's do it."

XXX

Barriss was looking at the controls of a monitoring system. After leaving the Jedi she had been busy with things here and there and had only returned to this room recently. As with every time she seemed to leave it for too long, the system had shut down so she was working furiously at it to get it back online. She knew Caleb was bright and could probably find a way out of the Force locks, and when he did she wanted to be watching. Before she could bring it back online, however, she heard a voice behind her say "Barrisss."

Turning swiftly in her chair, she could see no one there and had almost decided that all was clear when she saw a shadow move in the doorway. It didn't enter the room, but moved out of sight causing her to stand and follow, her hand just above her own lightsaber. Exiting the room, she saw nothing, but felt a presence down the next hall. She followed both the shadow and the presence all through the compound, barely noticing that it had led her to the room she had locked the Jedi in. Entering, she was surprised to see neither Jedi locked up, though the younger one was waving at her from behind one of the Force inhibitors. Before she could react she was both pulled and pushed into position so that she was now trapped within her own inhibitors.

"No!" she screamed, as Caleb showed that he had been behind her the whole time. "Well that was relatively easy compared to some of the stuff we have done." Ezra said, to which Caleb nodded his agreement before saying to Barriss "We'll be transporting you back to Coruscant." Barriss growled but didn't reply, as Bo-Katan returned with the other Mandalorians. "I see the captor has become the captive." Bo-Katan said, nodding at the Jedi in approval. "Oh, which reminds me, what did you do to the Mandalorian ships?" Ezra questioned Barriss, to which he only got a glare as a response. "Well since she is being uncooperative, I suggest you all go over them with care before you take off." Caleb said, "Bo-Katan, your sister requested that we bring you as soon as possible to her."

Bo-Katan hesitated, before replying "I really should stay and help everyone get off." "We also have a special visitor who is waiting anxiously to see you." Ezra notified her. Bo-Katan gave him a puzzled look before saying "Very well, I will go with you." Caleb informed Chopper that it was safe to come get them and soon he landed the Phantom nearby. Once the Jedi and their passenger and captive were on board, he headed back to Mandalor, docking with the Ghost upon arrival.

Sabine was waiting at the bottom of the ramp, holding her helmet against her side. To most she appeared calm, but Ezra could see she was nervous about seeing her mother after years apart. When Bo-Katan saw her daughter waiting for her, she made a happy sound before saying "Sabine, you are here!" Before wrapping her daughter in a hug. After a moments' hesitation, Sabine returned the hug, a single tear escaping from her eyes that were squeezed shut. Caleb and Ezra went back inside the Ghost to give them a few minutes alone.

XXX

The Duchess had wanted to try Barriss there on Mandalore, but Caleb asked her to allow him to take her to the Jedi to be tried once more for her crimes. The Duchess agreed, so long as Kenobi informed her what the verdict was. Sabine visited with her family and her mother said "You know I would love to have you stay Sabine, but it sounds like you have been having so much fun out there. I knew going with Hera would be good for you, plus it kept you out of danger during the unrest after Maul was here. If you wish to stay you may, but you are also free to go with Hera again and return whenever you wish."

"Thank you mother. Honestly, for years I thought that it was because there were still ill feelings between you and Satine that I was kept away, so you have no idea how happy I am to hear you want me around. But I have made a family with Hera, Zeb and Chopper and even Ezra and Caleb when they are aboard which seems more often than not. You and Mandalore will always be my home, but for now I want to stay with them." Sabine replied. Bo-Katan pulled her daughter into a hug and said "I understand sweetie."

XXX

On the flight back to Coruscant, as Caleb was taking his turn watching Barriss, Ezra found Sabine looking out the window of the top gun. He sat with her in silence for a few minutes before he asked "How are you doing Sabine?" Sabine sighed and said "Actually pretty good, though I kind of feel like I chose between my two families." "Oh yeah, that reminds me of something I have been meaning to ask. Your last name is Wren, but your aunt, cousin and mom's last name is Kryze, why is that?" "When my mom sent me away with Hera, she told me I should use the last name of another good friend of hers, Ursa Wren, to keep me safe from those who don't like my family. I've grown attached to it over the years and don't you think that Sabine Wren sounds way better than Sabine Kryze?"

Ezra laughed and said "I guess." Earning him a light punch in the arm from Sabine. After that they sat in silence, Sabine's head soon finding his shoulder, as they watched the sky streak by.

 **Phew, that was a long chapter. I knew where I wanted to go with it, but I honestly struggled writing this, maybe my inner fan girl was having a pity party after finding my long hoped for fan theory was wrong… ehh or a case of writer's block, you pick XD**

 **And man that season finale of Rebels! Warning Spoiler if you haven't seen it (though since by the time this is posted you probably have it's just in case) is anyone else sad to see Sato go?! I freaking loved that guy! And of course, my mind had to double compound it by making a head cannon where Chirrut and him were related right after that scene happened :/ stupid head.**

 **Also, I've had this weird thought. Maul told Ezra he would see him again. Do you think he will be able to manifest as a Force Ghost? I know that it's something supposedly is only known by those essentially chosen too but I mean Anakin/Vader as far as we know never learned it, and even if he did, who's to say Maul hasn't learned? I can just picture Maul trolling Ezra, idk, it probably won't happen, but I couldn't help but feel that it will.**

 **And holy flip guys, they are heading to Yavin! Does that mean we are almost at A New Hope timeline? If so will the next season be the last/will we lose everyone? I mean, if you were listening in Rogue One, Hera was summoned on Yavin, so we knew that she at least was there, but how will they explain never running into Luke?**

 **Last thought, was I the only one who thought Kanan was going to die in the season finale? I mean he and Ezra were having that whole, I am who I am because of you moment and it felt like a goodbye basically, to me anyways.**


	7. Chapter 6

Luke was surprised to see Ezra and Caleb walking out of the Council Chamber as he was headed there. "You already finished your mission too?" asked Luke. "Yep, easy peasy." Ezra responded, putting his hands behind his head. "Oh good, next time you can handle a mission like that on your own then." Caleb cut in dryly. They chatted for a few minutes more before they parted ways. Just as Luke was about to enter, he remembered he had something for Ezra, so he called out for him. Caleb had kept going, he had been sent on to the front lines and wanted to check on his men before they headed out, so Ezra was alone when Luke caught up to him. "Mira Bridger asked me to give this to you when I saw you again."

He handed over the miniature holo device which Ezra took with a look of confusion, as he asked "Did she say why?" "Something about wanting to thank you for all your help." Luke replied. Ezra thanked him and walked off, while Luke continued on to the Jedi Council, what was there anyways, to give his report on his mission.

XXX

Mara was sent right back out, but the Council told Luke to take the day off, they were expecting a call from some planet or other that may need help, but it would be some time yet. So once again Luke found himself alone with his thoughts. He instinctively, even after all these years, reached out for his twin's presence, only to feel the sorrow as he reminded himself that it wasn't there anymore. He tried to tell himself that it would get better with time, but he didn't really believe that. Shaking off his mellow thoughts, he decided to sneak a visit to his mother. If the Council found out or questioned it, he would just say that the Bridgers asked him to give her a message.

He soon found himself if the warm embrace of her arms, before she gently guided him to a seat and asked "What's wrong Luke?" He gave her a surprised look, to which she responded with a smirk and "I may not be a Jedi, but I am your mother and I can tell when something is bothering you." Luke gave her a half smile before replying "The Council gave me the day off, but with all this sudden free time, all I can do is think about Leia." His mother sighed and lost her smile as she replied "Oh Luke, I can't imagine what it's like to lose the bond of a twin, having never had one, but you shouldn't dwell on it either, it's not healthy for you."

Luke's eyes snapped as he replied, with a little more force behind his words then necessary "I shouldn't dwell on it?! How can I not? I failed her, mother. I wasn't there when she needed me most, I couldn't save her. All these years I haven't been given the real chance to mourn the loss of the bond, I'm always on the move with no time to just meditate and center myself, let alone come to grips with the loss of her." He would have continued, but his mother's gentle touch on his arm, brought him up short, his tear heavy eyes meeting hers.

"Oh Luke, you mustn't blame yourself. Twin bond or no twin bond, there is no way you could have helped her. She didn't want to be helped. Your father was almost there once, and he would be the first to agree with me on this. Maul twisted her thoughts, used her own emotions against her to get her to choose the path that he wanted, much like Palpatine did with your father. Only because he chose to open up to Obi-Wan did he keep from being in the same position your sister is in now. But remember, all is not loss, she still has some good in her, after all why would Maul keep her out of sight all these years if not for the fear that she may turn on him?"

"And what if she does? She has committed crimes, not only against the Jedi but the whole galaxy, ones that could see her being put to death if captured. The Senate wouldn't just let her walk away." Luke replied. "If it does come down to her returning to us, I promise I will do everything in my power to help your sister." Padmé stated. Luke silently took his mother's hand, squeezing it as a sign of thanks as the two settled into a comfortable silence.

XXX

Light-years away, a young woman dressed in black stood next to her Master, overlooking their handiwork. It had taken longer than they had expected, but it was finally time to show the galaxy that they meant business. She looked up at Maul who smiled wickedly at her and asked "Are you ready Darth Keeran?" "Yes, my Master." Leia replied.

 **I know, a rather short chapter, but you'll see why when we next get to Luke's chapter, well actually probably the chapter right before it, if it goes as planned, but you get my point. Also yay a brief look at Leia! I honestly will give her a chapter soon (though it will probably be as short as this one, but you never know), I just still don't want you to see exactly what is going on. And oooh she got a Darth name now ;) Honestly picking a name for her was the hardest part of the story XD**


	8. Chapter 7

Rowan was excited, Naare had informed him that they had been assigned to aid Master Luminara on the battle front. They were going to a planet called Hoth and his Master had warned him that it was very cold there, but he was sure that was an exaggeration… that was until it came into view in the ships window. The planet appeared to be completely white! He could feel his Masters smile on his back and he turned to her and said "Is that snow?" "Yes and also ice. You would probably freeze if you stayed out all night without any protection, so remember, stay close to the base." Naare told him.

"Why are we even coming here?" "The Dark Forces have set up a base here, but thankfully a freighter that had to pull out of hyperspace for some minor repairs saw one of their ships heading towards the surface and notified us. Apparently he often shuttles around Luke and Obi-Wan, so we heard it straight from him, rather than having to wait for the Senate to decide to inform us. Honestly, sometimes they can be slow to give us such vital information, just don't repeat that around them ok Rowan?" "Yes Master." Said the distracted boy, who was more interested in the approaching planet then in what his Master was saying.

They were soon landed and Master Luminara was waiting for them when they exited. "You've arrived with reinforcements just in time, we have been holding out fine, but I suspect that more troops have been sent to them as well, for their numbers seem greater than they have been." She said mainly to Naare, though not ignoring Rowan as she gave him a small smile. "Why don't we just bomb them?" asked Rowan, "It's awfully cold here." Naare chuckled a little as Luminara replied "They have been here long enough to set up a sturdy shield, it would take a lot more time to defeat them by air, whereas with a few strategic ground assaults we can hopefully take them, or at least drive them out and back into their space."

Rowan nodded, though he didn't quite understand still, as Naare asked "So what's the plan?" "We attack first thing in the morning. It is too late to head out now." Luminara said as she motioned them to follow her into the base. She gave them a brief tour before showing them their sleeping quarters for the duration of their time here. Rowan was pleasantly surprised at how warm it was inside the base that the Republic had built. "Get some sleep Rowan, we will need our energy for tomorrow." Naare said to him after she gave him a minute to explore the rooms. "Yes Master." Rowan said, though it would be a few hours before sleep came to claim him.

XXX

The next morning, before the sun even rose, Naare woke Rowan up and they headed off the meet with Luminara to discuss a battle plan. Once they had agreed upon a plan, they separated to talk with their men, Rowan tagging along with Naare, though only half listening to any of the plans. What had felt like warmish the night before, felt almost freezing to him in the morning and he was having a hard time staying focused on anything due to that and not sleeping well the night before.

Suddenly he realized his Master was saying something to him "Rowan, you need to focus. This information is important, not only because it could bring us one step closer to ending this war, but it could save your life. The galaxy needs us Rowan, we have lost too many Jedi over the years of this battle, each of us can't afford to make any mistakes, okay?" Rowan nodded and from that point on paid strict attention to what his Master said.

XXX

They cautiously made their way across the treacherous terrain. They had come as close to the Dark Forces camp on vehicles as they dared and now they were on foot, hoping to sneak up on the enemy and surprise them. Naare had seemed doubtful that it would work, but it also wasn't her mission to run, so she let Luminara have the final decision on the battle plans. His Master's dark hair softly waved in the breeze that was starting to blow, causing Rowan to wonder if they were due for a storm, and if so, what they would do if that happened out here in the cold.

Suddenly, Luminara held up her hand, warning everyone to remain still. A patrol of Dark Force members passed them by, missing them only because the white they had chosen for themselves and their squads with them caused them to blend in with the snow. Once they had passed and she had allowed a few more minutes to as well, Luminara motioned them on, her eyes ever moving, watching for another patrol. That had been to close for the Jedi Master's comfort.

Soon, they got to their goal, near the heart of the enemy camp. Luminara had been motioning for troops to start circling for some time now, and it was well encircled by the time they drew near. By a signal unseen by Rowan, everyone attacked as one. Naare had told him to stay back and bit and more watch then actually fight, seeing as how this was his first real battle, but he couldn't help but inch closer and closer to the fight until he suddenly found himself drawn into it as one of the Dark Force members spotted him and fired at him.

He deflected it away from him, almost hitting his Master with it. Thankfully she didn't seem to notice as she was busy with three Dark Force members of her own. The Jedi did their best to injure, not kill their enemies, all fearing that they may just be enslaved by Maul and not really wanting to be a part of this fight, at least not for that side. Soon the Dark Forces realized they were surrounded. Those that didn't really want to be there had no problem offering their surrender.

Others however, whether they were those who really believed in whatever cause Maul was pushing or if they had just been brainwashed to almost mindless beings, continued to fight and tried to make a break through the Republic lines. Soon even they were stopped, mostly by maiming much to the Jedi's displeasure. As they looked out over the battlefield, Luminara remarked, "This was so much easier when it was droids, rather than living creatures." Naare simply nodded, though she herself didn't remember the Clone Wars, she could understand what the Master meant.

"Now we need to set up a constant patrol so they don't try to make a base here again." Luminara continued, causing Rowan's eyes to widen as he said "You mean someone will have to stay here?!" Naare and Luminara chuckled at the young boy's outburst, before Luminara answered "Yes, are you volunteering?" As Rowan held up his hand and started mumbling about how that was okay, Luminara laughed and said "Do not worry young one, I was only teasing you. Actually, I think it will be fine with a patrol being in space, with scanners constantly looking for an outbreak of life on this planet."

As Rowan sighed in relief, Naare asked "Do you need any more help here Master?" "No, I think my men and I can finish this. Go and see where the Council needs you next." After a round of goodbyes, Naare and Rowan headed off back towards the base they had landed at. They were more than halfway back, when Naare said "You know, even with the added troops Luminara thought were delivered to them, that was way too easy, especially compared to earlier battles I have done with them." "What do you mean Master?" asked Rowan, who thought it wasn't as easy as his Master.

"Granted, in the earlier fights Maul was more frequently with them, but even so they put up a better fight then this. The ones in this group were almost all ones who didn't want to be a part of this and that seems rather foolish to me. While Maul may be crazy, he never does anything without a purpose, I wish I could figure out what that was. I mean it's obviously a distraction or a means of thinning us out, but the question is why? What does he have planned that he is working extra hard to keep us busy enough not to notice?"

Rowan had no answer for his Master, and now that she mentioned it, it bother him too that this was happening. There was a definite shift in the war, showing that something was about to happen. The question, unanswerable for the moment, was what?

 **Woohoo, Rowan finally gets a decent sized chapter (compared to the other characters and his own past ones anyways)! This chapter was originally going to have a little bit of family fluff in it as well, but I really needed it to be this way to set it up for events that will be happening in two chapters (if things go as I plan them to). I have hit just over 12k words so far on this story and I am not even halfway through. Originally I was thinking that this series, if you will, was only going to require two separate stories (meaning Dueling With Danger and this one), but if things keep going like this it will end up being three!**

 **Also you guys have no idea how glad I am that I have so many chapters prewritten (as I am writing this there are 5, counting this one), because for almost two months I had this writers block and you guys probably wouldn't have noticed it, except I also had internet problems at the same time so it kept me from uploading every week, lol. It is such a relief not having to stress about the block keeping you guys from getting the chapters you deserve :D**

 **I honestly have to blame my chapter on Mandalore for that. I got to it when I knew that they would be going there in the show, so I decided to wait for that episode and then I was kind of bummed that my fan theory didn't pan out (though I did tell you my substituted version of that, lol) that it just knocked me out of my zone for a bit there. But now I have the next basic ideas for the next four chapters set up (the one after the next one is the one I am most excited about writing and I will tell you why when you get there) so I should be all set for at least those. Then we shall see where this story takes us :D**


	9. Chapter 8

Once he was alone in his quarters, Ezra activated the holo disk that Luke had given him. Mira Bridger appeared with a smile and started speaking "Ezra, my husband and I would like to thank you personally for all the help and kindness you have shown us over the years. Please, if you find yourself near where the Council has put us anytime soon, please feel free to stop in and see us. I don't trust the information which I must share with you over the holo device, it must be given in person. We hope to see you soon Ezra." With that, she faded away as Ezra was left both perplexed and curious. What could be so important that she didn't want the wrong people to overhear?

Ezra slipped the holo disk into his pockets and went to see Master Yoda. He found the old Jedi meditating in the gardens. "Master, the Bridgers have asked me to come and see them, might I have a small break from my missions to do so?" "Hmm, say why they wanted to see you did they?" "Something about some information they had." "Hmm, go you may, but remember, information, dangerous it can be." Yoda said, his face showing his concern about what the Bridgers had to share. "Yes Master, where did Luke take them?" "To Naboo he did. Help you with that Padmé can." Ezra bowed and rushed out, his curiosity growing with each second while Master Yoda's unease grew.

XXX

Having secured the information from Padmé whom he noticed Luke was visiting, Ezra rushed to see if Hera was available to take him. "Sorry Ezra, I've got some other Jedi to take, but you could take the Phantom if you wish." The Twi'lek pilot said with a smile. "Thanks Hera, I'll take good care of her." Ezra said as he scrambled to the ladder that led to the smaller ship. "Where's he going in such a hurry?" asked Sabine, who had just entered the room. "Naboo." Hera replied. "Oh, can I go with him? It's been ages since I've been there and they had some really amazing art supplies there." Sabine begged. "If you can catch him you can." Hera said, smiling as she watched Sabine scramble for the ladder.

Luckily Ezra was still preparing for take-off, so as she climbed in she asked "Mind if I tag along?" Ezra jumped a little at her voice, so intent on getting the Phantom ready had he been. "Umm sure." He answered as he was still partially distracted. Soon he had the Phantom in the air and Sabine asked "So, why are you going to Naboo?" "I can't really say who, but someone wanted to see me." Ezra said as he set the coordinates. "Aww come on Ezra, you can trust me. I've flown with you to practically all of your missions, remember."

Ezra grinned and said "Fine, but you can't tell anyone who it is as we just relocated them for their own safety." "Mandalorian word of honor." Sabine said as her answer. "It's the Bridgers, you remember how we rescued them a few years back and brought them to Coruscant? Well Lothal blames them for starting this war against Maul and the Dark Forces, especially since it fell under their control two years ago. They sent a bounty hunter after them, but a few of their old friends on Lothal got wind of it and were able to send them a warning in time that they needed to move, or at least relatively in time since Cad Bane attacked them. Luke took them safely to Naboo and they in turn asked to see me."

"Why?" asked Sabine, "I mean have you really seen them that much since the rescue?" Ezra shook his head and said "Not really, we didn't want to draw attention to them." "Then why do they want to see you now?" "That's what I intended to find out." Ezra said as he made the jump to hyperspace.

XXX

Once they arrived on Naboo, Sabine went off to look at art supplies, while Ezra headed to where the Bridgers were staying. Once he knocked on the door, it slid open to reveal Ephraim standing there with a smile. "Ezra, you came! Come on in." he said. After he had taken just a few steps, Mira came up and wrapped her arms around him in a hug and said "I didn't think we would be seeing you this soon, I know how it can be hard to connect with your fellow Jedi friends at this time." "The timing was just right, both Luke and I returned from our missions at about the same time, so he was able to hand me your message practically immediately after getting back." Ezra replied, returning the hug.

"Come, sit." Mira said, motioning for him to take a seat. Once he had done so, she and Ephraim took seats on either side of him. "Ezra, there is something we have wanted to tell you ever since we first met you years ago, but weren't sure what was going to happen at that point and then life just slipped by so fast." Ephraim started, before Mira cut in, "To make a long story short, Ezra, we are your parents." Ezra's eyes widened with shock as he exclaimed "What!?"

"You see Ezra, not to long after we had you everything on Lothal started to change. It became more and more unsafe and we were already pretty outspoken even then so it made the danger level for our family even higher than most. We knew that you were destined to be a Jedi, for Maul himself stopped on Lothal and told us that you were Force sensitive even before you were born." Mira explained, "He wanted you for his Apprentice Ezra, and if he had been able to stay on Lothal he probably would have. But some unrest or another at a nearby planet sent him skittering into the shadows and off Lothal long enough for you to be born and for us to come to the conclusion of what needed to be done."

"So we took a flight to Coruscant." Ephraim picked up the story, "And left you at the Temple with a note. We didn't include your last name for we knew it would eventually be linked to us. Not to long after we got back to Lothal, Maul returned looking for you. We told him you had died in childbirth and while he was angry, he did us no harm, instead he left Lothal. But we knew he would continue to look for another Apprentice so we started making it our mission to call for the Republic to capture him, so that no parent would end up being unlucky enough to lose their child to him."

"Can you ever forgive us Ezra for giving you up and for not telling you sooner?" Mira asked. Ezra took a deep breath before he replied "You saved me from Maul, from becoming just as twisted as he is and you did everything you could to keep what happened to my friend Leia from happening. How could I not forgive you? In my mind, there is nothing to forgive, but if you need it you have it." Then he put an arm around both of them and they put an arm around him and each other, hugging each other and enjoying being a part of a family for the first time. After a few long minutes, they pulled back and none of their eyes were dry.

They spent the day learning everything they could about each other and just enjoying each other's presence. Finally, as the sun was setting, Ezra reluctantly said "I have to go now. I brought my friend Sabine with me and she'll be wondering what happened to me, plus I have to get back to the Temple." His parents shared a look before Mira teasingly said "Oh, you brought a girl with you? Do you like her?" Ezra blushed as he said "Mom, I can't like her like that, its against the Jedi code." "Just because its against the code, doesn't keep it from happening Ezra." Ephraim said with a wink. "Dad!" Ezra said in exasperation.

His parents laughed, before his mother grew serious and said "It is a pity that the Jedi don't allow attachments, as they are such wonderful things. Will you come and see us again or will the code keep you from that?" Ezra shook his head and said "No way, I just found you, I'm not going to lose you that easily." "I'm glad." Mira said, pulling him into a hug. "Remember son, just because its been in a code and done that way since the beginning, doesn't make it right." Ephraim said as he pulled him into a hug after he was released by his mother. Ezra's mind briefly went to Anakin and Padmé, but he pushed that thought away as he enjoyed the last minute with his parents he would have for a while at best.

"I'll keep that in mind dad." He replied, before saying his final goodbyes to his parents and heading out the door. He soon found Sabine, waiting for him in the bay that they had left the Phantom. "You were gone longer than I thought. What did they have to tell you?" she asked, as they walked onto the ship. As soon as the door was closed, Ezra answered "My last name. It's Bridger." As Sabine's eyes widened he told her the story his parents had told him. Once he finished, she threw her arms around him in a hug and said "I'm so happy for you Ezra, I know this is something you wanted for a long time."

Realizing that she had hugged him, she awkwardly removed her arms from around his neck and blushed as she asked "So are you going to tell everyone what your last name is or no?" Ezra considered this for a minute before shaking his head no and saying "I'm going to tell Luke and Lei… well Luke anyways, since he knew since we were kids that I was trying to find out what had happened to my parents and who they were, but not anyone else, as they will forbid me to see them so I can't form any attachments." Sabine sighed and said "As much as I admire the Jedi and all, I can't understand that rule. I mean I may not have the greatest relationship with any of my family, but I would hate to be told I could never talk to them again."

Ezra didn't say anything just simple nodded as for the second time that day the thought of how Anakin was alright after not only forming an attachment with Padmé, but marrying her and having kids, but at the same time he knew it wasn't his place to question the way of the Jedi… or was it?

 **Well that was fun! I have been wanting to do this chapter almost as much as the next chapter since the idea for it formed in my head! I always knew I wanted Maul to be the reason that the Bridgers gave up Ezra in my story, but even I hadn't thought about their demands for the capture of Maul, etc to be tied in the way it was. We may not see the Bridgers again after this, as the story will be shifting focus points now, but they will be alive unless otherwise stated for the rest of the story.**

 **Also I'm sorry I didnt upload a chapter last week, it was crazy and I never got to the internet with my laptop. So I hope having two chapters today made up for it :D Also May the Fourth Be With You! (And remember, tomorrow is Revenge of the Fifth ;)**


	10. Chapter 9

**IMPORTANT! I updated this story with two chapters on May the 4** **th** **, but there was an error as I did so and so it doesn't show up as being updated nor did I even receive notification of it being updated. When I read another story that should have been updated during that time and got confused as to what was happening (and so no replies to reviews at the bottom per usual) I realized I wasn't the only one effected. So please, go back and read the two previous chapters, otherwise this won't make any sense!**

 **Lol get ready for a little change of our usual programing ;)**

Jyn looked over at her friend Cassian and smiled, though she had this feeling that all was not right in the galaxy. Something was about to happen, something that would change the course of their lives. Whether for the good or for the worse, she didn't know. But she tried to push that thought aside and enjoy her time with her friend. Since the attack on her family, her father had restarted his research efforts, hoping to figure out what the Dark Forces were up to before they showed it to the galaxy. He was in need of some fresh kyber crystal samples and so had sent her and Cassian to Jedha to get some. The duo were happy with this decision, for they got to see their good friends again.

It was hard to believe just seven years ago they hadn't known each other, but now neither of them could imagine their lives without Chirrut, Baze or Bodhi in it. While there was no guarantee that Bodhi would be there, he was often away shuttling crystals to the Jedi when they needed them, at least the other two would be there for them to see. As Cassian brought the Rogue One to a gentle landing, he asked "Are you okay Jyn? You were awfully quiet on the flight over." Jyn gave him another of her plastered on smiles and said "I'm fine Cassian." He didn't look convinced, but didn't push her further as they headed to the exit of the Rogue One.

As they exited their craft, they saw Bodhi exiting another ship and greeted him. "How's this for timing?" Bodhi said with a smile on his face, "I was sorry to have missed your last two visits, so I am glad I caught you this time." The three talked amongst themselves as they headed into town. They soon met up with their other two friends, who were waiting for them. After a round of hellos, they spent a few minutes catching up with each other and just news in general.

Suddenly, the sky grew dark, which was odd since it was the middle of the day and Jedha never had solar eclipses. Looking up, they saw something that caused them all to gasp. Hovering over there planet was a giant ship, as big as some planets were. Jyn felt something screaming at her to run and she vocalized that. Her friends didn't even question it, the way she said it stirring them into action without any need for more. As one, they made their way for Jyn and Cassian's ship were K-2S0 was waiting for them. Just as the first of their feet entered the Rogue One, a green laser shot out of the ship above, striking the planet.

Jyn's eyes widened as she looked in the direction of where the hit occurred and saw a wall of dirt rushing towards them. Her stomach twisted as she realized there would be no saving the people who called not only this town their home, but possibly even the whole planet. She was snapped out of her daze by Bodhi yelling "Come on Jyn, we need to get out of here." Seeing that her friends were already on board the Rogue One, she climbed up too as Cassian and K-2S0 got them into the air. "What is that thing?" asked Baze, to which no one had an answer.

"Kay-Tuesso, can you scan that ship for me?" asked Jyn, "Something tells me we need to get this information to my father. This looks like something he drew up when he was redoing his research." "I guess someone has to do the work around here." The droid replied sarcastically. Softly Chirrut said "I guess we know why the Dark Forces pulled out of this system." This sobering thought was met with silence as they made it far enough into space to make a jump. "Got everything we need K-2?" asked Cassian. "Of course." The robot responded. "Then let's get out of here." Replied Cassian, before making the jump, leaving the crumbling planet of Jedha behind.

XXX

Everyone was quite as Lah'mu came into view, each coming to grips with the fact that Jedha and those on it were gone. Cassian brought them down right next to Jyn's parent's home and they all quickly embarked the Rogue One. "Don't forget the data K-2S0." Jyn said distractedly right before the door to her home opened up, revealing her father standing in it. "Well this is a surprise, I ask for crystals and you bring your friends as well." He said jollily before noticing their faces. Sobering up he asked "What's happened?"

Quickly Jyn and the others filled him in on exactly what had happened on Jedha with K-2S0 finishing it with "I have the specs of the craft if you wish to see them sir." "I think I already know what you're talking about, but I better confirm it. Come inside." Galen said, motioning them to follow him. Inside the house Lyra had already put together a small meal for them all to enjoy and was shocked to hear about Jedha as her husband went to work looking at the information K-2S0 had brought back for him. She insisted that the others needed to eat as her husband looked it over. No sooner had they taken a couple of bites before he said "It's just as I feared."

"What is it father?" Jyn asked, her food already forgotten. "You know those little training droids that the Jedi use to teach Padawans how to reflect bolts? I was working on ones that would use the crystals, but would still just stun them, though the shock was slightly different than regular bolts. I never had perfected it before my research was stolen. It looks like they took the basic design I had and modified it to make the kind of blast that you saw." "Is there any good news in this?" Cassian groaned. "Yes there is. I believe I have spotted something that will make it extremely vulnerable." "We need to warn the Republic and tell them what you have found." Lyra said to her husband.

Galen went to send a transmission but his face paled as he said "We won't be sending any transmission, they're jamming our signal. "Then we'll take the Rogue One out of here and get away from their signal." Jyn replied and she and her friends headed outside to do just that, but stopped when they saw what was in the sky. Dark Force ships, what looked to be about twenty of them at least, were headed they're way. Jyn turned around and reentered the house and said "Grab your research dad, we need to all get out of here." Galen and Lyra didn't question her, but immediately started grabbing the most vital of his work. Jyn's friends reentered the home as well and helped gather everything possible.

Then they loaded up the Rogue One with it all and even though it had taken them at the most five minutes to gather all of it, they worried that they had taken to long, for the ships were getting close enough that they could see TIE Fighters, a Dark Force favorite, flying out of them. "We won't make it past all of those, you'll need to stay low to the ground until we get to a place where they aren't filling the sky." Baze stated.

Cassian nodded and said "Bodhi, you take the controls." Bodhi's response was to jump into the pilot's seat while the others secured the research better, each taking their own seats as they completed that task. Bodhi barely took the Rogue One into the air, keeping almost impossibly low to the ground to be as unnoticeable as possible. When they were almost out of sight of the Erso home, they could just make out the TIE's bombing it. One thing was for sure, after this was all over, the Erso's wouldn't be returning home.

But even as they were out of sight of the house, they weren't out of sight of Dark Forces ships, in fact there seemed to be more over here. "You know, I bet this attack was supposed to take place at the same time as the one on Jedha, that way the Republic would be thrown into a panic and the only one who could figure it out would be gone, namely you Galen." Chirrut said. "They have this planet completely surrounded, by the looks of it, we need some place to lay low, preferably with the Rogue One, or at least someplace the Rogue One can be near." Cassian stated.

"The mountains up ahead are riddled with caves, some large enough for this ship of yours." Galen responded, "Since we haven't been chased by TIEs, I don't think they know we have escaped their attempt to kill us, so if we can stay in one of those long enough, we might make it out of this without having to struggle to stay alive." Bodhi kept on a straight line to the mountains, everyone keeping their eyes peeled for the perfect cave after they came close enough to them. Lyra was the one who spotted the one they all thought was perfect and Bodhi gracefully brought the Rogue One in for a landing, turning it so it faced outward for a fast exit.

Then they all exited the Rogue One and headed for the mouth of the cave where they stared up at the ships hovering over the surface of Lah'mu. "How long you think until they leave?" asked Lyra. "Until they are sure we are dead." Galen responded. "I'm not very optimistic about our odds." K-2S0 said to know one in particular, earning him a glare from Cassian who said "Try to think positive." "I am thinking positive." K-2S0 shot back at him. Jyn just rolled her eyes at them, the years of flying with them having grown her accustomed to their bickering.

She remembered when Cassian had found the Dark Force Enforcer Droid suffering from a malfunction. Not only had Cassian reprogramed him so that he wouldn't have to answer to the Dark Forces, but he had also given him way too much personality and free speech, at least for most of the time in Jyn's opinion. Anyways, the two had been practically inseparable ever since and while she and the droid often butt heads, they both respected each other too.

Everyone else ignored the little spat between Cassian and K-2S0, all of them too worried to take much attention off of the Dark Force fleet for long. "I'm actually kind of flattered that they thought they needed this amount of force to take care of me." Galen said after a while, earning a chuckled from the group, whose nerves were still on edge. "Why don't they just leave?" asked Jyn, "They've certainly leveled the house and checked for survivors by now, why haven't they left, or at the very least why haven't some of them left?"

"Maybe they are setting up a new base here?" Baze suggested. "Or maybe they know we escaped and they are planning something bigger." Chirrut said, to which Jyn replied "You don't mean that thing that blew up Jedha?!" "Think about it, that fleet can easily keep us blocked down here long enough for them to bring that monstrosity over here and it's not like there is much in between the two so they don't have to worry about it being reported to the Republic before they get here." Chirrut replied. "Then we need to get out of here!" Bodhi exclaimed. "You don't even want to know what our chances of surviving are if we go out there right now." K-2S0 almost gleefully informed him.

"Then what are we going to do, wait for them to blow us up?" asked Lyra. "That's exactly what we are going to do." Cassian answered, to which everyone responded with "What?!" except for K-2S0 who said "Well I wasn't expecting that." "Listen to me, when are they going to be the most lax and therefore when is it going to be the easiest time to slip through their defenses? When they blow up Lah'mu. When they do that, we will have to time our jump just right so that they, hopefully, don't notice our escape. "What do you mean our jump, are you suggesting we make the jump to lightspeed from here?" asked Jyn, to which he nodded and said "It's the only way we can get out of here for sure, which means it's the only way we can warn the Republic what's coming."

"If we survive you mean." Jyn replied, to which Cassian replied "Our chances of survival our better this way then if we try to get into space first, am I right K-2S0?" The droid looked as uncomfortable as a droid can, not wanting to be dragged into this really, but he replied "In theory, you're correct." "See, nothing to worry about." Cassian said to Jyn with a grin. "Nothing but my sanity." Jyn replied. Cassian pulled her into a hug and said "We'll be fine Jyn, we'll make it, I promise." Jyn wanted to believe him, but the thought of what they were going to attempt caused her stomach to do flip flops. It had nothing to do with the fact that she was in the arms of the man she considered her best friend.

XXX

K-2S0 had successfully hacked into the system of the Dark Forces, as far as they could hear the transmissions between all of the ships. Sometimes it paid to have a former Dark Force droid on your side. They all sat around, waiting for word that the big battle station had made its way into their system and was getting ready to fire. Suddenly, Jyn noticed that they used a different call sign then before and she focused her attention on the broadcast as someone said "Death Star has entered the system." Death Star, it must be that big battle station, the name certainly fit it in her opinion.

Looking up she couldn't see it, but that same feeling she had on Jedha told her that she was right. "Guys, we need to get ready, its here." The others stood up from their positions on the ground of the cave and headed to join her in the Rogue One. "How do you know it's it?" asked Cassian. "Well with a name like the Death Star it seems right, plus I have this feeling…" Nobody questioned it further, Jyn's feelings were hardly ever wrong. Instead they all strapped themselves in, Cassian taking the control this time, while Bodhi sat next to him, ready to help where he could.

Over the radio they heard "Charging up the Death Star." Cassian and Bodhi started working like crazy to get the Rogue One into the air. For once, Jyn was glad Lah'mu had basically become a ghost planet since the attack on her family's house seven years ago. When the few others who called this planet home had seen how vulnerable they were to attacks by the Dark Forces, they had all left as quickly as possible. It had made it seem lonely, but now it just seemed like a blessing that they wouldn't have anyone's deaths on their hands.

"Fire!" came over the radio, and even though this time they couldn't see the bolt of green, they could hear the rumbling and see the wall of dirt, rocks and everything else the planet was made of rushing at them. Cassian waited, the moments ticking by agonizingly as he looked for the perfect moment to pull off what they were going to do, or at least hopefully do. As the wall of dirt got closer and closer, Jyn hesitantly said "Cassian?" "Just a few moments longer." He said softly. When the wall was just seconds away from engulfing him, he shouted "Now!"

Bodhi and K-2S0 flipped a few switches, keeping an eye on readings as Cassian through the Rogue One into hyperspace. After several seconds passed and the realization that it had actually worked filtered out amongst them they cheered! Jyn hugged Cassian from behind as she said "Well done Cassian!" Cassian grinned back at her as he said "Now unto Coruscant, where we will tell the Republic what's happened." "No, not the Republic. The Jedi first, they need to know what is charging that ship and I need to get this research to them, maybe even continue it." Galen said.

"Right, to the Jedi Temple it is then." Cassian replied, setting the ship to auto pilot so he and his friends could celebrate their escape for a bit. Jyn's hand went to the crystal around her neck that her mother had given to her when she was little. So much had changed since then and Jyn wondered if the galaxy would ever know real peace or if they were doomed to fight for all eternity.

XXX

Maul stood next to his Apprentice aboard the Death Star. "Is it done, Darth Keeran?" he asked. "Yes, my Master." She replied. "Good, now there is no one left who can tell the galaxy about our little weapon. I want to work out a few more bugs before showing the Republic my ultimate weapon. I want it to be able to instantly destroy a planet, there is far too much time for someone to get off in my opinion and we can't always surrounded it with the fleet. I want you to oversee the process while I go back out into the lines, do you think you can handle that?" "Of course, Master." Darth Keeran replied.

"Good, I was hoping that you would say that." Maul said, his smile spreading across his face, as he thought of the horrors he would do to the Jedi, particularly his old nemesis, Obi-Wan Kenobi.

 **This chapter (and part of the next) have been planned since the last story, right after seeing the movie so it was four months in the making, as far as me writing it, lol, hence why I was so excited to write it (this was written mid-April) :D Oh boy is it hard to get the dry yet snarky humor of K-2S0 down, so if he seems unusually quiet, it's because I am just not quite comfortable about doing him correctly. K-2S0 looks exactly like he does in the movie, just instead of being an Imperial Enforcer droid, I switched it to the Dark Forces.**

 **I hope Cassian's maneuver with lightspeed at the end of this chapter brought the feeling of Han with his shenanigans in the Force Awakens. I wanted a crazy lightspeed moment in this story and it just felt right to put it here.**

 **I wasn't planning the little Maul and Keeran/Leia conversation to be a part of this, but when I got to the end of the chapter I felt that it needed this little moment for us to see their side of it.**

 **If you have any characters you want to see make it into this story, please feel free to ask. If I can make them work, I just might add them. They can be a good guy or a bad guy, I don't care. But remember I am several chapters ahead, writing wise, compared to where I am at posting wise, so even if I do take a suggestion it will probably be a few chapters before you see them come into the story. If you have someone that is already in this story and its prequel that you want to see more of, ask and it may happen. I do have plans for a couple of people that I had either mentioned in passing, or were only in it briefly to return, but I don't mind working in any favorites of yours too :D**


	11. Chapter 10

Luke was wandering through the space port after leaving his mother's house, when he saw the Rogue One coming in for a landing. He hadn't seen his friends Jyn and Cassian in a while, so he rushed to the spot where their ship was setting down. As Jyn exited, his greeting died on his lips as he saw the look on her face, a look that said she was bringing bad news and that something had happened. This feeling intensified when Luke saw her parents exit behind her along with Baze, Chirrut and Bodhi, whom he knew were supposed to be on Jedha at the moment.

Before he could ask what had happened, Jyn held up her hand and said "I will explain later, but we must see the Council at once, can you help us?" Luke nodded and said "Come with me, I was soon going to be heading there myself." The group followed Luke to the Temple and through its many corridors, finally taking them right outside the Council room. "Wait here one moment." Luke said to them before entering through the doors alone.

Yoda looked up and asked "What is it, young Skywalker?" "I'm not quite sure Master. My friends Jyn and Cassian, along with Jyn's parents and a few from Jedha are outside with what I think is urgent news." Luke replied. "Show them in then." Obi-Wan said, from his position in the room, though he himself was there only via hologram, having left soon after Luke and Mara did with the Bridgers. Luke opened the door and said "Come on in." The group filed in and since he hadn't been dismissed, Luke stood quietly behind them.

"What news have you brought us?" asked Kit Fisto, also there via hologram. Jyn stepped forward and started her story from the beginning, though keeping it brief. When she had finished, the Masters all looked gravely at each other before Shaak Ti finally said "It is as we feared then, Maul has been spreading us thin for a reason." "Galen Erso, your daughter said it was a protoytype of something you were creating, does that mean you know of a way we can stop it?" asked Plo Koon.

Galen now stepped forward as he shook his head and said "I'm sorry Master Jedi, but they have changed so much of it, I couldn't say for certain. If I only had a reading of it I might be able to find one, but both times any of us saw it, we were more worried about escaping it then in actually collecting data." "Then that will be our first objective, getting that information." Depa Billaba said from her seat. "Safe no doubt the Dark Forces may feel, stay near Lah'mu they might." Yoda said to know one in particular.

"We don't have any Jedi in that area at the moment, and anyone close is tied up." Caleb said. "Skywalker, been to Lah'mu have you?" asked Yoda. Luke had thought they had all forgotten he was there, so he jumped a little when Yoda addressed him, but quickly gathered himself and said "A few times, Obi-Wan and I ran some stuff back and forth between us and the Ersos." "Go then, and scan the Death Star you must." Yoda said, with Obi-Wan adding "Be careful Luke, remember Maul and Leia could be on there and they could sense you." "Yes Master." Luke said, before bowing and exiting.

"Galen, would you be willing to help us find a way to stop it?" asked Shaak Ti. "Of course, Master Jedi." Galen responded and Shaak Ti said "Good, we will set you up with everything you need and as soon as Luke gets back with the data, you can get to work. In the meantime, you and your family should get some rest, that goes for those of you from Jedha as well. We will show you to a place where you can get some."

XXX

Luke hopped into one of the Jedi Star Fighters. It might be a bit obvious whose side he was on if he was spotted, but he wanted to have a ship he knew how to handle no matter what situation he found himself in. He had installed a hyperdrive in it personally, so at least he wouldn't have to worry about the ring being discovered, like any of the other Jedi had during the Clone Wars and even a few of the hold outs that were fighting the Dark Forces. When the war had started up, the Republic had provided them the funds necessary to make some more Star Fighters and Luke had returned his father's to him. Luke's what painted with dark blues and greens, something he was thankful for as it wouldn't make him as noticeable to the Death Star.

R2 rolled up to him and he said "Hey R2, you aren't out with my dad?" To which the droid beeped and Luke replied "Ah, a secret mission he couldn't take you on? How about coming with me? I need to scan a Dark Force craft called the Death Star. I could use a droid with your spunk out there." R2 beeped and whistled at that, causing Luke to laugh and say "Okay, let's get you aboard." R2 jetted up into position, settling in gently as Luke climbed in himself. After a flicking a few switches and pressing a few buttons, the Star Fighter gently rose into the air, Luke expertly piloting it out of the hanger and into the space above Coruscant as R2 programed the coordinates Luke told him to pull up. As the stars streaked around them, Luke wondered what he would exactly see on the other side of this journey.

XXX

When he pulled out of hyperspace he was amazed at what he saw, or rather what he didn't see. Lah'mu was no more, all that was left in its place was what could easily be mistaken for an asteroid field. This was going to be harder than he originally thought. Many of the cruisers that the Ersos had mentioned appeared to have left the system, no doubt moving onto other targets now that they thought their secret was safe. But they had in no way left the Death Star unprotected either. Enough cruisers still remained that could easily take down a fair sized attacking navy, and Luke doubted that would change anytime soon.

At first he couldn't see the Death Star anywhere and thought it might have left the system, until he realized that what he had been thinking was the moon of Lah'mu was actually the battle station he had been sent to scan. Luke landed his Star Fighter on a nearby clump of what used to be Lah'mu and powered down as he said, "Okay R2, get to it, we don't want to be here any longer then we have to." The droid beeped his agreement before starting the scanning process. As he sat waiting, Luke saw small battalions of enemy ships flying in the distance and he realized only two things were keeping them safe.

One, nobody thought that anyone had made it off and two, because of this and the already low amount of traffic to Lah'mu, they didn't really expect to see anyone out here and were therefore not as diligent as Maul would want them to be. How long that would remain on his and R2's side remained to be seen, hopefully long enough to find something useful if not the whole thing. After almost an hour had passed, R2 beeped his success at having scanned the whole thing and Luke started powering up his ship. It was only then that he realized he hadn't sensed Maul's presence, a presence he would never forget, but he was picking up one that was sort of familiar, though now changed and twisted and even, did he dare hope, a little conflicted. Leia.

He thought about trying to find her, to try to talk her back into the light, but then he sighed. The mission was to important to take the chance that he might not succeed, that he might get caught and held or even killed before anyone found out the secrets the schematics that R2 had gathered held. Besides, if he went in there, he would give away the fact that they not only knew about Lah'mu and what had happened to it, but that they also knew about the Dark Forces ultimate weapon. With one last pain at the thought of leaving his sister behind, Luke said "Let's go home R2."


	12. Chapter 11

Leia walked the halls of the Death Star, reflecting on what she and Maul had done. She should feel giddy, excited even, but something from her old life dragged her down instead. Jedha was sacred to the Jedi, to destroy like that as part of a test run weighed on her. Then because a ship had escaped, one belonging to Galen Erso's daughter, and headed to Lah'mu, Maul had insisted that they try out the Death Star one last time. He had organized the fleet into a blockade so quickly, it was almost scary, and she couldn't help but wonder if Maul had had this planned all along. After all, it was where he stole the ideas for the Death Star, or at least what would become it, and the only place where anyone might have been able to figure out a way to take it down.

She pulled her hood down low over her eyes, hiding them in case they could give away the doubts and emotions swirling inside her. It was times like this, when Maul was away, that she was able to think more clearly. She frowned, that wasn't to say however she wasn't being watched closely. Maul had left his two closest lackeys, the only two that Leia honestly thought Maul had the undying loyalty of, behind. She looked to her right, catching a glimpse of them from the corner of her eye and her annoyance flared up. Tarkin and Thrawn had been left behind to oversee the final touches to the Death Star, but they were also her babysitters.

One move that they thought was inappropriate or out of line and they would be reporting her to Maul. Neither of them feared her, for they knew that if she did anything to them, she would hear it from Maul. Seven years she had been under their watchful eyes whenever Maul had to leave, she knew the drill. Seven years it had been since she had severed her bond with Luke, something she greatly missed in the dark of night. Maul had kept her from the frontlines during this time, to ensure that her loyalty was complete, no doubt. Leia sighed as she thought about what her life had become, endless days of being watched, of putting on a charade of compliance when all she wanted was to be left alone long enough to clear her head.

"Are you alright Darth Keeran?" a gentle voice asked. Leia put on a smile for the only friend she had and said "I'm fine Maketh, thank you." Maketh Tua was the commander under her and the only one in the higher chain of command that had ever shown any kindness to Leia. Maul seemed indifferent to the girls' friendship, but Tarkin and Thrawn always glared and muttered under their breaths when the two spoke to each other. It's probably why Maketh and Leia had become such good friends to be honest, both liked annoying the two men and so both had continued their conversations with each other whenever they could.

But even as close as she felt to Maketh, she didn't dare voice her doubts to her, for she still answered to Maul. Even if Maketh wanted to keep her secret, Leia wouldn't want to put her only friend in that kind of danger, so she kept her mouth shut about her inner turmoil. Looking out over the stars at one of the viewing ports, Leia had to ask herself "Where is the hope gone? Where is the carefree life I used to enjoy so much disappeared to? Why am I so conflicted about my Master's plan? Whenever he is close it makes so much sense, at least most of the time, but when he is gone it's like I've been blindfolded from seeing the things he sees the way he sees it."

Suddenly she sensed a familiar presence, one she had felt in years. Luke. He was out there somewhere in the remains of Lah'mu! Why did her heart fill with joy at that? She should be furious that her enemy dared to come so close… but she couldn't see Luke as the enemy, even without the bond, he was her twin. Even so, her allegiance was to Maul and the Dark Forces, she really should say something. But if they were dumb enough not to notice him, then why should she bother? It could be a test to see if she would, but she had already hurt her brother enough. Without showing it, she reached out a bit towards him in the Force, not enough so he would noticed, but enough so she could check on him.

She almost stopped herself, why should she care how he was doing, he was supposed to mean nothing to her!? But no matter how many times that lie was repeated it was one she just couldn't buy. So she allowed herself this moment, this little slip up, this back slide, to see if her brother was the same boy she remembered. She almost cried tears of joy as she saw that, although he was older and even wiser then when they had last seen each other, there was very little changed about her brother… except… Then she felt bad as she felt the sorrow he felt at her loss, even greater than her own for the loss of him. She barely held in a sob as she saw how she had hurt him, was still hurting him.

Then she felt his desire to come and get her and while a part of her wanted him too, another knew that would be far too dangerous for him and she hoped he would stay away. She was relieved as she felt the sudden loss of his nearness, knowing that he had left the area as quietly as he had entered. She held in her emotions that were churning greater then they usually were, stoically making her way to her room. Once she was inside and she had assured herself that not only was there anyone close enough to hear her, but also no devices for doing so, she collapsed on her bed as she sobbed, as quietly as she could.

She sobbed her tears of sadness, of confusion, of anger, of practically every other emotion she was feeling. She half longed for Maul to return, to end these waves of uncertainty that crashed around inside of her. She wouldn't mention her brother to know one, they would be angry at her for not saying anything when she sensed him. But also because it was the one part of her life Maul had no control over. Oh he may have convinced her to sever their bond, but he couldn't force her not to love her brother, to still care for him. Maul had tried and sort of succeeded when he convinced her to turn to the dark side, saying things like her parents loved him more and always arranged the clandestine meetings for times when she wasn't on Coruscant on purpose, among other things to make her susceptible to his influence, but the attachment she had for Luke ran far too deep for him to dig it up.

As that thought crossed her mind, Leia had to wonder if Luke felt the same? Or if it was just her mind lying to her, a trick of the confusion that always fell over her anytime Maul was not close by.

 **Wow, an actual Leia chapter! I bet you were beginning to wonder if you were ever going to see this XD I know both her's and Luke's chapters were short, but I am planning on uploading them together on the same day (hopefully I remember…) so really it was just a longish chapter (for me anyways) cut in half :D And look Tua, Tarkin and Thrawn all have made an appearance (dang, that's a lot of Ts…) I can't recall at the time I am writing this if there have been any request for these three (though I do remember a note asking about Thrawn at least, so here you go, surprise surprise what side he is on :P), but if so I hope you enjoyed their showing up! I'm not sure if they'll be mentioned again accept for in passing, as Tarkin I really don't care for and Thrawn (who I also don't care for) is just too hard for me to write to the point where I find him believable/passable for the "real" thing. Tua might make a reappearance, as she is Leia's only friend in the Dark Forces, but honestly I don't know. But I had to bring her into this as she was one of my favorites :D Keep your eyes peeled for a returning background (for this story anyways) characters and some new to the story characters in the next few chapters :D**


	13. Chapter 12

Rowan and his Master landed on Coruscant, Rowan being especially happy that they were no longer on that frozen planet and that Naare had promised him a visit with his siblings after they went to the Council to give their full report. Rowan wished that Master Luminara would have handled that, being on the Council and all, but she was busy setting up the patrol and shuttling prisoners to wherever. As they were about to enter the Council room, Master Plo Koon hurrying up. They bowed and Naare said "Master we're here to give our report on Hoth."

"That will have to wait, little ones, something with dire consequences has occurred." The Kel Dorian said. Master and Padawan shared a look before Naare asked "Is there any way we can help?" "At the moment, no. Luke Skywalker is on his way back with his scan of the Death Star and we, or rather Galen Erso, must look it over to figure out a way to defeat it." Rowan, never having heard the term before asked "What's a Death Star? Is it a rampaging star?" "If only it were that easy, little one. No, the Death Star is a machine that has been built by the Dark Forces that is capable of destroying entire planets, or at least pieces of. Now if you will excuse me, I must join the others." And with that, Master Plo left them stunned in the hallway, as he entered the Council chambers.

Rowan looked up at Naare with wide eyes and said "Master, how is it possible to destroy an entire planet? Do you think they'll come here?" he lowered his voice to a whisper before continuing "Do you think Zander and Kordi are safe here?" Naare sighed and said "I don't know the answer to any of your questions Rowan. More than likely, the Death Star will come here at some point, but when that will be, I don't know." She stood there for a minute looking troubled, before smiling down and saying "Come Rowan, let's go for a walk to clear our heads."

Rowan knew what that really meant, and nodded enthusiastically before following his Master down the halls and out onto the street. They of course didn't make a straight line for the Freemaker house, that would be foolish if anyone were watching and they couldn't allow themselves to grow complacent in the fact that no one had neither seen nor caught them at or near the Freemaker home yet. Naare really tried to keep their visits mainly to when they needed transportation to eliminate most of that risk. But they hadn't been able to line up their schedules in a bit so she decided to make this one of the few exceptions to the rule. When they weren't too far from their destination, Naare stopped and turned to Rowan.

"You can't mention the Death Star to them yet Rowan. If they let it slip, even accidentally, not only could it cause mass hysteria, but it could end up coming back to us, meaning they would realize I allowed you contact with your siblings. If that happens, we would be separated and you would be put under someone else, someone who wouldn't allow these visits. Do you understand?" Rowan nodded and said "I do Master, I promise I won't say a word." Naare smiled and said "That's good Rowan. Come, we mustn't keep them waiting."

Their knock at the door brought Kordi to answer it, greeting them with a warm welcome as they did so. Both she and Zander asked lots of questions about what had happened with Naare and Rowan since they last saw them. Rowan caught himself right before he mentioned the news of the Death Star to them as he was finishing the tale of their latest adventure. By his Master's approving smile, he knew that she could tell he had done so and it made him feel good to do his Master proud. The question of if that was a good feeling to have popped into his brain, but before he could even think to ask it, Naare was already asking his siblings about what they had been up to.

Rowan settled himself in for the visit, wishing they could venture around Coruscant together, but the chances of running into somebody from the Temple was too high to chance it. Maybe someday they would be able to do so, if not here then somewhere in the galaxy. For as much as Rowan loved being a Jedi and enjoyed being with his Master, there was a part of him that yearned for the feeling of family that he felt when he was with his siblings to be permanent. Shaking off these sobering thoughts, he started adding his witty comments to the conversation at hand, enjoying the next few hours of the only peace he knew in the galaxy these days.

XXX

As they walked back towards the Temple later, Rowan looked up at his Master and asked "Master, I was wondering, remember how you felt that the attack on Hoth was a distraction? What if it and the others that happened around it were a way to be sure we weren't near Jedha or Lah'mu at the time they had the Death Star there?" Naare sighed and said "I wouldn't be surprised at all, young one, to find out that you are correct, Maul is more cunning then we give him credit for sometimes, and I think that is part of the reason we struggle to end this war. We just don't take him seriously enough."

Rowan didn't respond to his Master, mostly because he wasn't too sure Maul was all that cunning, after all he had chosen the dark side of the Force. Naare could sense her young Padawan's thoughts and she barely kept from chuckling at his child like way of viewing it. She was worried that if Rowan ever ran into Maul he might be too cocky or that he would underestimate Maul. That sobered her up, for she knew all too well the power of Maul and she couldn't stop the memories of that day, at least the ones she had, of leaping to her mind. The day Mace, the one she had thought indestructible, had died and the day Leia had been taken from them, while she and Ahsoka laid helpless on the ground.

 **I may stop doing a Rowan chapter every run through. I feel bad, because I really did mean for his chapters to be longer than they have been, but I guess I just don't know him well enough yet to be comfortable in making chapters about him. I may just start doing them whenever he is necessary for plot movement for the rest of this part of the story (which I am thinking of doing one more part after this, as it is getting far longer than I dreamed this would get when I started. I thought all the ideas I had when I started would get maybe another 10k words out of them then I have currently, but I have honestly been shocked that with still one more major planned out section still to go (and a few more planned details in this part still to go) that I have written so much and still have so much to go, lol. I mean currently, we are over 20k words and I still have three things I planned to cover in this section, which might take two chapters each (or might not, lol) so yeah, with several big things to come in the "finale" plus to make the title more fitting into the mood of that section I really need to add another story part in.**

 **Ugh, I'm just rambling now, I'm sorry, sometimes when I type, my brain starts thinking and my fingers just go along for the ride XD**


	14. Chapter 13

As they were flying through hyperspace, Ezra called Master Yoda. "Master I am on my way back from Naboo…" "Your help needed by Obi-Wan is. Head to Mandalore and meet him there." The green Jedi Master interrupted. "Yes Master." Ezra said, before cutting the transmission and dropping from hyperspace. As he put in the coordinates to Mandalore, he noticed the worried look on Sabine's face. "Don't worry Sabine, your family will be fine." "I hope so." Sabine said softly. "I better let Hera know I'll be delayed in getting back to Coruscant, maybe she can meet us at Mandalore also." Ezra said, hoping the Twi'lek could indeed meet them, to give Sabine some moral support if his words proved to be false.

XXX

Obi-Wan wished that he could go faster, the trip to Mandalore seemed endless. Not to long after Luke had left to get the scan of the Death Star, Maul had contacted them. He had demanded Obi-Wan come to him and as an incentive he showed his captive, Satine. The woman he had considered leaving the Jedi Order for many years ago, who he had already saved from Maul once, was back in his power. He only hoped that it would turn out just as well as the last time.

He could still see Maul getting ready to stab her with the dark saber, remembered the feeling that time itself was slowing down as he watched him pull back to stab her. Then the feeling in his gut as he called on the Force as he never had before and hadn't since, rendering the cuffs on his hands useless and pushing the dark saber to the side of the Satine, too close for comfort as Maul pulled her towards him. Bo-Katan, who had snuck in without anyone noticing, had pulled her sister from the shocked Maul's grasp as Obi-Wan called his own saber to him and attacked Maul, who barely recovered from his surprise in time to block Kenobi's lightsaber.

The Mandalorians in the room did nothing, much like they had done nothing when Pre Vizsla had faced Maul, waiting to see how this battle played out. The battle was quick and Maul laid defeated on the ground, the point of Obi-Wan's lightsaber at his throat. He had been taken to the nearest Mandalorian prison until the Jedi could safely transport him to Coruscant, but Maul had somehow escaped and gone into hiding. Obi-Wan shook his head as Commander Cody said "Coming out of hyperspace sir." Obi-Wan hoped that Ezra was either already there or soon would be, for he didn't trust Maul not to harm her if he took too long for the Sith's patience.

XXX

As Ezra brought the Phantom out of hyperspace, he saw Obi-Wan's ship was already there and started beaming a transmission to him. As the hologram of Obi-Wan appeared, Ezra said "I hope I didn't keep you waiting long, Master, I came as soon as I heard." "I just got here myself, so your timing is good. Come aboard and we'll work out a plan." Obi-Wan replied, before ending the communications. Ezra quickly docked the Phantom with Obi-Wan's ship and he and Sabine went aboard. As they walked up to the table, Obi-Wan turned and greeted Ezra before asking, "Who's this?" "This is Sabine, she is Satine's niece. Sabine, this is the Obi-Wan Kenobi you've heard so much about." Ezra introduced them.

Obi-Wan blushed as Sabine hid a chuckle before saying "It's nice to finally meet you Master Jedi, as Ezra said, I've heard a lot about you. I wish we were meeting under better circumstances." Obi-Wan nodded and said "Agreed. Are you wanting to join us in your aunt's rescue?" "Do you know the whereabouts of the rest of my family?" she asked. "We have been in contact with your mother, she is safe, though she is trying to keep Maul's forces busy long enough for us to get down there undetected." "Then I think I will join her once we get down there, I've seen what Maul can do and you don't need any more distractions then you already have." She replied.

Obi-Wan nodded as Ezra's fingers found the scars on his face, as he remembered his first encounter with Maul years ago. He would be glad that Sabine was safely out of harm's way, relatively speaking anyways. Obi-Wan nodded and said "Alright, you will take my men to aid your mother, while Ezra and I go and pay Maul and your aunt a visit. Cody, she has temporary command over you and your men." "Yes sir." Cody replied. "Ezra and I will take that small ship you two arrived in down to the surface first, then after we give you the signal, you'll come in with guns blazing and transports full, alright." "Yes Master Kenobi." Sabine replied as Ezra nodded his agreement."

"Right, any questions?" After a moment of silence, Obi-Wan continued "Then let's get going Ezra." Ezra led the way to the Phantom and took control of the ship. As he was flying them down towards the planet, Ezra asked "May I ask you a question Obi-Wan?" "Of course." Obi-Wan answered. "You have feelings for Satine right? Why didn't you choose her over the Order?" Obi-Wan sighed and asked "This won't go further than this ship?" Ezra nodded, causing Obi-Wan to continue "When I almost lost her to Maul last time, I knew I loved her. I promised myself as soon as the Clone Wars was over, I was going to follow my heart."

"So what stopped you?" Ezra asked, surprised at the openness of Obi-Wan. "Anakin. I knew he would want someone he trusted to teach the twins and since there was no way the Council was going to let them be taught together, I stayed to train Luke. I would have left after his training was complete, but this war has taken so many Jedi, I can't abandon them now." Obi-Wan said sadly. Ezra considered this a moment before asking "So do you think that having attachments is okay? Or are you on the fence, where it's fine to have attachments but if you do you should leave the order?" "Honestly, I'm fine with attachments and if it weren't for the Order not approving, I would have gladly figured out a way to both stay with the Order and Satine. That is, if she would have me."

The rest of the ride was spent in silence, each man deep in thought about their conversation, one reflecting on the woman he loved and the other wishing he could help the other be with her. Soon they reached the surface and Obi-Wan sent the attack message to Sabine. Almost instantly there was ships filling the sky, though further away from Obi-Wan and Ezra to keep from drawing attention to them. "Let's go." Said Obi-Wan.

Ezra followed him out of the ship and towards the palace, since Obi-Wan knew the way better than him. As they drew closer to the palace, Obi-Wan turned to Ezra and said "I need you to slip around the back way as I distract Maul, that way we have to view points on where Satine is and will hopefully be able to keep her safe this way." Ezra nodded, heading off to go around as Obi-Wan waited a moment before entering the front of the palace.

XXX

"Ah Kenobi, I see you got my message." Maul said with a wicked grin. "I'm here now Maul, so let the Duchess go." Obi-Wan replied, a determined look on his face. "I must say, for someone who earned the title of Negotiator during the Clone Wars, I was expecting, well, more negotiations Kenobi." Maul said softly, ending with what would pass for a chuckle. "You want my terms then? Alright, let the Duchess go and you can leave here without anyone stopping you, unless of course you decide to make a wrong move, then all bets are off." Obi-Wan said, a bored look crossing his face, though inside his heart was racing at the danger Satine was in.

Maul sobered up and frowned, none to please with the condescending tone Obi-Wan used. "Are you patronizing me as I hold her life in the balance? Do not push me Kenobi, I will harm her." He growled. "No one is patronizing you, my old adversary, just trying to give you what you want." Obi-Wan replied, hoping that Maul wouldn't turn his anger on Satine. "What I want is you dead before me, but only after I remove everything you cherish from sight." Maul spat at him. "You will try." Obi-Wan answered, his face scrunching up a bit as his emotions started to get in the way.

Noticing this, Maul laughed and said "What's this? A Jedi showing a un-Jedi like emotion? And Kenobi at that. Yes, this revenge shall be sweet!" Obi-Wan, knowing that Maul was right, took a deep breath and closed his eyes, still focused on Maul, but regaining control over his emotions. Then, without warning he sprung at Maul, his lightsaber going for the Dathomirian's head. Maul, taken by surprise and acting on reflex, pulled his lightsaber away from the Duchess, in who's direction it had been pointed the whole time, blocking Obi-Wan's lightsaber just in time. Ezra came from the back just then as Satine scurried a safe distance from the two Jedi and the Sith they were fighting.

Red clashed against green and blue blades, as they all parried and thrust in an intricate, almost dance like pattern. Obi-Wan gripped his lightsaber with both hands as he spun around, slamming it hard against Maul's waiting blade, his left hand straining as the mechanics in it tried to hold up against the pressure being applied to it. Then Maul's lightsaber was gone as he moved it to block an attack from Ezra. The Jedi would have Maul almost backed into a corner and he would pull a move that had them on the defense, then they would start to circle him, causing him to back up once more, and the cycle with start over, with neither side doing any serious gaining nor landing blows on anything but the other's lightsabers.

The sweat was trickling down all of their foreheads as the exertion from both the time and the power behind their blows caught up with them, but both sides refused to quit, to much was at stake. For Maul his freedom and the future of the Dark Forces, for the Obi-Wan and Ezra their lives and those of Satine and any other Maul would go on to kill. Suddenly, Obi-Wan stumbled, his foot having caught on some downed statuary, and Maul's eyes gleamed with joy at the sight of his opponent, the focus of his burning hate, in such a vulnerable position. Yes he wanted Obi-Wan to suffer, but he would settle for the knowledge that he had failed his precious Satine.

Maul pushed Ezra back with the Force, the young man's head hitting the wall with a crack and he crumpled to the ground, motionless. Then Maul stalked towards Obi-Wan, his lightsaber finding the older Jedi's throat. "I finally have you Kenobi, I finally win." He manically proclaimed. Obi-Wan knew he wouldn't be able to recover to a good defense position in time as Maul pulled back his lightsaber, ready to stab Obi-Wan through the heart. Out of seemingly nowhere, a black object hurdled through the air, hitting Maul high on his left shoulder and momentarily pinning him to the wall behind him. As Maul screeched in both pain and surprise, Obi-Wan looked in the direction the Dark Saber, for that is what had hit Maul, had come from.

There stood Satine, still in the position she had been in when she had thrown it, her hair a mess and her clothes out of sorts… and Obi-Wan thought to himself that she had never looked more beautiful. Shaking his head to clear that thought away for a better time, Obi-Wan got to his feet and faced Maul's direction once more… only to discover the Sith gone. The Dark Saber laid on the ground, deactivated, and when Obi-Wan reached out in the Force to see where Maul was, he found him running away, probably to his ship that was sure to be stashed nearby.

Deciding against chasing him down, he made his way over to Satine, who was bent over checking on Ezra. "I think he is alright, but that bump will keep him out for a while." She said as she got to her feet, "Are you alright." "I am, thanks to you." Obi-Wan said with a gentle smile. "Well I couldn't let him hurt my favorite Jedi." Satine said with an almost shy smile. "I hope this is okay." Obi-Wan said, to which Satine started to ask "What..?" but she was stopped from doing so as Obi-Wan's lips met hers. She returned his kiss, sighing as they parted. "That." Obi-Wan said breathlessly. "Oh Obi-Wan, I've wanted to tell you my feelings since our first amount of time together, but I knew that you were a Jedi so it could never be."

Her eyes widened as she continued "Oh my gosh, you still are a Jedi. Obi-Wan what are you doing? You will be kicked out of the Order if they find how dear you hold me." "I don't care Satine. Honestly, I was going to leave after the Clone Wars, but with the birth of Leia and Luke… I had to stay for them, for Anakin. Then when Luke was trained enough, we were, are, so low on Jedi that I can't leave now. But the moment this war is over, I am leaving the Order, and coming straight to you. I've almost lost you twice before I ever got to tell you how I feel about you, I will not make that mistake ever again." Obi-Wan finished passionately.

"Oh Obi-Wan." Satine repeated, before kissing him this time. After they parted a second time, Obi-Wan said "In fact, if you're willing, I want to marry you now. We'll have to keep it a secret, for the Order won't let me stay if they find out, but they need me and I can't abandon them now, but just knowing I'll have you to come home to eventually, will make me the happiest man in the galaxy." "Of course I'll marry you Obi-Wan and I promise to keep it a secret, but might my sister be there and know?" she asked. "Yes, she and her daughter and your nephew Korkie are all welcome to be there." "Can I be there too?" Ezra said with a groan added at the end.

Satine looked horrified, worried that Ezra would tell the Council on Obi-Wan, but was relieved when Obi-Wan said "Of course Ezra, and thank you for making me think of this on our flight down." Ezra smiled groggily before saying "Now would be a good time to do it, we could call in Sabine, Bo-Katan and Korkie as back up, but make sure it's just them. But we still need someone to officiate the wedding." "What about Hera? As Captain of the Ghost, she technically has the power to marry someone." Satine said. "I did ask her to meet us here on Mandalore, so she might have arrived. I can contact her and see." Ezra answered.

"Please do, I will see to getting Bo-Katan and Sabine here, while Satine can get Korkie in here." Obi-Wan replied. The three separated a bit to make their calls and then waited for all of those summoned to arrive. They weren't long in waiting, for the others came as fast as possible, Hera bringing up the rear as the all filed into the room Satine, Obi-Wan and Ezra were. "What's the matter? Why did you call for us? Is it Maul?" Bo-Katan asked, before noticing that the three that were already there were way to calm for this to be a battle summons. "What's going on?" She demanded. "Obi-Wan and I are getting married!" Satine exclaimed, her joy evident on her face. Everyone said their congratulations, before Obi-Wan said "I am going against the Order on this, so please keep it a secret until I can come here permanently."

The others agreed and Satine turned to Hera and asked "Will you marry us?" Hera looked surprised, then smiled and said "It would be my honor." The ceremony was short and sweet, they wanted to be sure that they wouldn't be discovered, but you wouldn't have known there were only four witnesses, besides Hera, when Obi-Wan and Satine kissed, for the room was full of cheers. Almost immediately after the ceremony, however, it was back to business, for Obi-Wan asked "How was the battle with the Dark Forces going?"

"When you called us, we had them in retreat. Maul must have called them off when he fled. Still, I'm sure there are still stragglers." Bo-Katan answered, Korkie confirming that the same was true for the group that he had been fighting. "Then I shall stay here a day or two to help with tracking down the last few, in case there are any surprises. Ezra, you can return to the Temple or go wherever you are sent next." Ezra smiled and said "Yes Master." Ezra, Sabine and Hera all left together, while Bo-Katan and Korkie hurried off to return to their groups to finish the fight, leaving the two newlyweds alone.

Satine smiled up at him and said "At least I get to have you with me for a few days." "That will be nice. I want you to see if you can hire Asajj Ventress for protection, if Cham Syndulla is done with her. I know she is a former adversary, but she knows how to use lightsabers and I'll feel better knowing you have some protection if Maul decides to try this again." Obi-Wan asked gently. "If it will make you feel better I will do so. Now, would you like to take a stroll around the palace?" she asked softly. Obi-Wan smiled and said "I would love too."

XXX

Ezra docked the Phantom back onto the Ghost and joined Hera and Sabine down below. Zeb was visiting his family on his home world, so they talked openly about the wedding that had just taken place. "I can't believe they finally got married!" Sabine exclaimed, "I remember all the stories my aunt has told us about their time together, and I could always tell that she liked him. I never expected him to be okay with leaving the Order, let alone pulling an Anakin Skywalker!" Hera chuckled and said "It was definitely odd, though I hope that it is a sign of change happening in the Jedi Order." Ezra smiled, knowing she was thinking of Caleb and shared a glance with Sabine that told him she was thinking the same thing.

XXX

This time, when he contacted Yoda he was told to return to the Temple as soon as possible. As he watched the stars streak by as they were in hyperspace, he couldn't help but think that maybe it was time for the Order to change. If their numbers kept dwindling it might be easy to get them to allow for certain things that they hadn't before, like attachments. Not that Ezra wanted anything to happen to any of the remaining Jedi, but with so few Jedi and with a few that he personally open to the idea of changing some of their beliefs, perhaps this was almost a blessing in disguise, as far as it being more than likely to come about now than when there had been more.

For now, he worked to put out of his mind the marriage of Obi-Wan and Satine. It wouldn't do for any of those opposed to change to figure out what had him so distracted or deep in thought. But before he did so he couldn't help think of what Hera had said about the wedding being a sign of change. Was it? And if so, would everyone be fine with it? And if they weren't, would they become two separate groups that would end up fighting each other? Ezra shuddered at that thought and hoped he was wrong, but if something was going right, something had to go wrong, didn't it?

 **Yay, Obi-Wan is married to Satine! I honestly love this pairing and my heart broke in The Clone Wars when she was killed by Maul. Hence I had to save her in this story and I honestly wasn't going to have them marry when I even started this chapter, but my hands took over and it was done XD Sorry, not sorry XD Besides it kind of fits into my plot a bit (something you shall see later, wahahahhahahha!) and it just felt right with the moment.**

 **Hopefully ya'll will tell me what you think of not only this chapter, but this story as a whole, for I'm dying to know! And if any of you have a character who has not appeared yet that you would love to see, let me know and I will see if I can fit them in :D Or if you have one that has already been in, but you think deserves more time in the story. I can't promise anything, for some characters haven't appeared or at least not much because I just don't feel like I could do them justice, ie Thrawn. But I will do my best to add them in :D**


	15. Chapter 14

Luke delivered the plans to the Council, then headed out after they had him fetch Galen for them, needing some time to think and reflect, time that he knew he didn't really have. How he wished he could swoop in and take Leia away from Maul, from his influence, remind her of who she is. But that was impossible, his sister was no more. Suddenly he heard Rowan's voice calling, "Luke, Luke the Council wants you." Luke turned to see the young boy running towards him. "Thank you Rowan." He said, as the boy made it too him, panting to catch his breath.

Luke left Rowan in the garden where he had been sitting and rushed to the Council room, pleasantly surprised to see Ezra, Mara and Petna, as well as several others, were there. "A flaw Galen Erso has found." Master Yoda announced. "It's a small one, one that is even in my original designs. They must have thought it was part of the plans." Galen said from the hologram, for he was still in his lab, "We just need to get a few well-placed shots off either here or here." As he said the last part, his image was replaced by the Death Star with two areas highlighted.

"Are we going to hit them with everything we got?" asked Petna. "No." said Caleb, "You four and I shall take out troops in, with Obi-Wan possibly joining us if he can get away from Mandalore in time and Anakin and Ahsoka joining us, minus their troops who are still busy on Lothal, trying to reclaim it. Ezra, how bad were the Dark Forces on Mandalore?" "I'm not sure, to be honest. I was there only long enough to help rescue the Duchess from Maul, though he got away." "So we'll have him to deal with as well as Leia there possibly." Said Plo Koon. Ezra nodded, though Luke could sense his friend was holding something back.

But the master didn't know him as well, so he continued, "Aayla Secura and I will be nearby if you find yourselves in need of back up and we shall be ready at a moment's notice." "Is there anything we need to know about the Death Star that hasn't been covered?" asked Mara. "Not really per say, but just a reminder, the Death Star's main weapon can destroy a planet, remember it can do the same to ships as well." With that sobering thought, the ones to take part in the Death Star attack were dismissed to go and prepare their men.

When the Jedi weren't assigned solo missions, they usually traveled on the same ships as their men, and this time would be no different for them. They headed to the base were their men were getting a brief respite from the toils of war. As Luke headed towards his Red Squadron, he saw Ezra talking to his captain, Kallus. The two hadn't gotten along at first, but had become friendly towards each other over time. Luke smiled as he saw his two good friends in his squadron, Biggs Darklighter and Wedge Antilles eagerly awaiting his orders. "Where we heading Luke?" asked Wedge. "To take on the Dark Forces super weapon." Luke simply replied, before giving a brief, but thorough, description of their mission and the Death Star. "Sounds like fun." Biggs replied cockily when he was done.

After a few more details were given everyone went to do some last checks on their ships before taking off, Red Squadron's X-Wings each being carefully looked over by their pilots. Seeing a moment to talk to Ezra privately, Luke walked up to him and asked "So what didn't you tell the Council?" Ezra shook his head and said "It's amazing how well you can read me sometimes. Honestly, nothing that I can tell you about, Obi-Wan will have you fill you in when it comes to Mandalore. But before that, you know that message the Bridgers gave you for me?"

At Luke's nod, his friend continued quietly "They're my parents Luke!" "Luke's eyes widened as he barely kept his voice low, "Oh my gosh, that means you know your last name now!" Ezra nodded and said "Yes, finally." He sighed and added "I just wish Leia were here so I could tell her." Luke nodded, as he hoped in his heart that Leia wouldn't be on the Death Star when it blew. Caleb yelled loud enough for the whole hanger to hear "Alright everyone let's get going, no telling when they'll be ready to use the Death Star on Coruscant. Luke and Ezra made a promise to talk more later, before heading off to be with their men.

XXX

As the ships pulled out of hyperspace, Luke could sense the surprise of the Dark Forces and it gave him a little hope to know that Leia didn't betray him. Why would have to be a question he pondered later, but for now, his goal was to keep as many of his men alive as possible and destroy that Death Star. "Okay everyone, keep the ties off of our support ships and of course each other. Biggs, Wedge, you're with me. We're going to try hit the spots Galen mentioned."

When they were almost on top of the first of the enemy ships, which had scrambled to get into position, Anakin and Ahsoka's ship came out of hyperspace from a different direction, bringing Admiral Yularen with them. The Admiral quickly took charge of the attack, directing all of the ships on what position to take. As the bigger ships moved to take the positions he suggested, the Jedi and their men flew around protecting them or trying to reach the spots. "Keep your attack group small for the runs on the Death Star, it will keep you from being an easy target." Yularen said, as Luke and his group made the first run.

"Roger that Admiral." Ahsoka replied, her respect for the aging man showing through the tone in her voice. Anakin used the new asteroid field that had once been Lah'mu to lure enemy ships into where he either picked them off himself or let the asteroids do that. Ezra, Petna and Mara were all trying to distract as many pilots and gunmen from Luke and his group, giving their friend the best chance they could. To many "I'm hit!" reports came over Luke's radio for his taste and he tried not to think about who the voices belonged to as they flew closer and closer to the Death Star.

"Keep the asteroid field between you and the Death Star as much as you can." Yularen said to bigger ships in particular, "It will be harder for them to use their beam on you that way." "Right." Came the answer of one of the captains, who instantly checked to see that they were as covered as possible. The smaller crafts were doing a wonderful job of keeping the Dark Forces off of them, only a small number making it through and their lasers hits did no damage, the shields able to fully recover before another one could get through to get a shot off.

Finally Luke, Biggs and Wedge made it through the asteroid field and made a direct line towards the Death Star, which started to send out ships of their own. "Biggs, Wedge fall back and keep them off me." "Right." His two friends said, before pulling back their X-Wings as he asked. Some Clone fighters from Yularen's vessel arrived to help them just as a massive wave of Dark Force Fighters started to bombard them with attacks. The three took evasive action, but stay on target as they helped each other keep from getting shot out of the sky.

As they drew closer, he could sense his sister's presence and reached out to touch it, surprised when she let him in. He could feel the confusion within her and he said "Leave Leia, get out while you can, please!" He sensed her hesitation, before he had to break away, a near miss with an enemy ship, bringing his focus back into the battle at hand. As much as he wanted to save his sister, the galaxy was counting on him to destroy the Death Star, or at least try to. Sooner than he was ready the spot they were to hit was upon them and he fired… missing by inches.

"We have to hit the next one Luke, I don't think we can take much more fire." Biggs said, as he looked out over his already smoking ship. "We will, that one just snuck up on me." Luke said, trying to lighten things up, though falling flat. He concentrated, reaching out, calling on the Force as the spot got closer and closer. Just when his friends were starting to doubt he would hit this one, he fired.

 **Wahahaha a cliff hanger! I've been wanting to bring Yularen in for a while now and thought this was the best way to do so. He is such an awesome character, I have to say. Also Biggs is here! I wasn't even thinking about him until I got to this chapter and I was like well, I need to change this and thus we have Biggs.**


	16. Chapter 15

Leia felt her brother's presence and was shocked when she heard his warning as clearly as if their bond had never been broken. But should she listen? When she felt the sudden disconnection, fear for her brother fell over her before she realized he was still safe and that there was no way of stopping him from blowing up the Death Star. She turned to her friend, who had been sticking close since the Rebels pulled out of hyperspace and said "Come Maketh, we must leave now." "Ma'am?" Maketh said as she hurried to catch up with her. "There will be no stopping the Rebels today, come while we can still leave with our lives."

Maketh did not argue, rather she radioed ahead to prepare Leia's ship. As they hurried through one of the long corridors, she saw Orson Krennic hurrying from the other direction. It had been him to inform them that Galen had many plans that could be manipulated into weapons, having been a close friend of his for some time before they had a falling out. It had earned him a place of favor with Maul, and besides Tarkin, he had the most say of what happened aboard the Death Star. For a moment she was worried he would stop her and question her summoning the ship, but he passed her, muttering about close Republic Fighters.

This caused Leia to practically run through the halls, Maketh matching her stride for stride. They quickly entered the sip and were no sooner closing the ramp, when the heard a deep groan like sound coming from the inner workings of the Death Star. Barely were they out of range when the whole thing blew, taking a great part of their troops with it. Maketh made the jump to lightspeed in silence as Leia contacted her Master.

"Darth Keeran, I hope you have good news?" Maul said, looking a little worse for wear then when she last saw him. "No, my Master, in fact I am contacting you to inform you of the Death Star's destruction." "WHAT?! How is this possible?! How did they find us?!" Maul roared. "Maybe the Erso's got off a signal before we arrived we missed some traveler and they reported us, I'm not sure. I barely got off of there with my life."

This caught her Master's attention and she didn't need to be near him to sense his growing anger. When he softly asked "How did you escape, my apprentice?" she knew that things would not go good for her. She caught Maketh's fearful glance as she cautiously continued. "I sensed it coming, Master." "I don't think you really tried to stop it. Did you at least get Tarkin and Thrawn out of there?" Leia did her best to hide her hard swallow, as fear filled her throat, but her voice betrayed her as she snakingly said "No Master, I didn't see them. The only one I saw was Orson Krennic and I figured he deserved to die for his failure. I alone escaped."

She saw Maketh's confused look, but did her best to ignore her as she watched her Master pinch his nose between his eyes, which was never good sign, before he said "We will talk more when we meet back up. You know where." Then he ended the call. After giving Leia a moment to recover, Maketh said "I'm confused Darth Keeran, why did you not tell Darth Maul that I survived?" "He knows we are friends, Maketh. If I told him that you were still alive, not only would he think I purposely left them there to die, but he would use you to hurt me, probably kill you himself. We need to make a brief stop on Tatooine."

"Why there?" Maketh asked. "I'm going to drop you off there with two messages. One you will show my friend Han Solo, he will get you safely to Coruscant or Naboo, where you will show the other message to my mother." Leia said, "She will take care of you and help you find some place more permanent to stay." "Why not just come with me? If I may say so my lady, you are acting rather odd for a Sith." Leia sighed and said "I don't know my mind is both more muddled and yet clearer when I'm not around Maul. As for why I won't go with you, I must return to Maul, but you don't and can't, for I fear what he will do to you. He won't hurt me though."

Maketh didn't look quite convinced, but still said "If you are sure, Leia." Leia looked at her in shock, for never had her friend called her by that name. "I hope I'm not stepping out of line, but since my time is basically done in the Dark Forces, I see no reason to call you by the name you only got after coming there." Maketh said with a gentle smile. Leia gave her friend the first hug she had ever dared give her, before recording the two messages. By the time she was done, they had arrived at Tatooine and they both exited the ship, Leia's figure completely hidden by a cloak.

They entered the cantina she knew Han liked to frequent and she quickly spotted him. "There is my friend, wait until I am gone before you approach him, I don't want him to see me." "The one sitting enxt to a Wookiee? He's kind of cute." Maketh said, bumping her shoulder against Leia's. Leia blushed and said "If you say so. I must be off before Maul grows suspicious, take care Maketh." And with one more hug, she left her friend to approach Han alone.

XXX

Han was enjoying his favorite drink, when a blond girl cautiously sat across from him. "I need a ride to Coruscant." She said timidly. "Sorry sister, I'm not giving anybody any rides at the moment." Han said broodingly, still annoyed that Jabba refused to pay him for the recent delivery he had brought him. "I have something for you." The girl persisted and he sighed and said "Fine, what is it? A blaster bold with my name on it?" The girl smiled, but rather than answer, slid something across the table to him. Seeing it was a holodisc, he pressed it and watched small vision of Leia appear.

"Hi Han, I don't know how you feel about me, but I need you to do me a favor. I just escaped the Death Star with my friend Maketh here and I know Maul will kill her if she returns with me. I ask you to please take her to my mother on Coruscant. Please do this for me, for old times' sake." With that, the message ended and Han was left staring where Leia's image had just been. After a moment, Maketh said "So about that ride…"

 **Wahahahah it felt so good to kill those three XD And Maketh Tua yet lives! I was sad to lose her in Rebels, so its fun to let her live on in here XD Now, I'm sure a few of you are probably wondering, if Leia is having so many doubts, etc why didn't she go with Tua? The answer is twofold really. One, a part of her still sort of believes the lies he has told her and two I would call either she has a variation of Stockholm Syndrome or picture someone who is in an abusive relationship that you question why they are still in. That is the best way to describe her connection to Maul at this current point.**


	17. Epilogue

Luke and Anakin had been at Padmé's, having a mini celebration of the destruction of the Death Star, when Han had arrived with Maketh and her message. When they saw the heartfelt plea Leia made to protect her friend, Padmé and Anakin saw what Luke had been hoping was a possibility since he went to collect data on the Death Star, that there was still some good in Leia. "Maul is starting to lose control of many things. Obi-Wan beat him soundly on Mandalore, Ahsoka and I recaptured Lothal from him, Luke blew up his Death Star and now with this, I say he is losing his grip on Leia." Anakin stated gleefully.

Padmé smiled at her husband, though a part of her feared that he would yet be proven wrong about Leia, a part of her hoped that he was right. For Luke, he remembered how not to long ago he questioned where the hope was and now he knew. It had been there all along, he had just been looking at the bleakness, the darkness, rather than the light.

 **Another chapter of this story has come to a close. I will probably upload the first chapter of the prologue of the next one on the same day as I do this. Time for the final round guys! Total word count on this section: 26,899. Total Word count between the two stories: 60,572**


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